A Witchy Way To Go
by Fantasy-Mania31
Summary: Aradia, a witch at heart and soul, goes about her life with a little mischief here and there, until the friggin airship came. Now she has to babysit a "skunkhead?" I'm not dead! This story's still alive!
1. my life: Like it?

**Hi! I've been wanting to write a story for Secret saturdays for a while, but I needed to think of a plot first.**

**So, basically Aradia is a witch, and so is her mom and dad(her mom's more powerful, though). Some secret scientists are looking for her mom's help because there's a cryptid that she's familiar with and knows a lot about it. Please R & R to get more chapters!**

**I don't own Secret Saturdays or the characters in it.  
**

* * *

_Tick tock, look at the clock!_

_Clock's a fastly ticking_

_Rolling past the timing rock!_

_Down, down, down the hill_

_And knocks down the man with the noisy drill!_

_Drop, drop, drops to the ground_

_And can you guess what the by passer found?_

Poetry.

_Damn_, I hate poetry! Yet there I was, sitting at the back of the classroom, listening to some dead crackpot's rhymes.

_Time to spice things up a lil'_ I thought with a grin. I looked at the kid at the front of the room, the one who was reading the stupid poems, with great effort. I focused on the image of the kid with his belt off. No more belt on. It simply wasn't put on this morning.

I blinked once.

_Tick tock, look at the clock!_

_Clock's a fastly ticking_

Rolling past the tim-

"HOLY SH-" I smiled to see him now trying to pull up his pants with the entire class laughing, thanks to me. _Yes_, me. I hate it when there's nothing fun happening in the world, so I simply make some. What? You think _I'm_ going to sit through 45 more minutes of _this_?

I gotta admit, being a witch _did_ have its props. Well, it's better than doing stuff on accident, whether it's funny or not. That only happened when I was younger. More inexperienced. More childlike.

Now, at sixteen, I just about had it under wraps. Mom said it was the same for her(the witch thing's hereditary).

_Any _who, back to now and present. The teacher had sent the kid to the office and then drawled on and on about impulse control, and how we should contain ourselves in a more _respectful_ manner. _Respect_, my ass! Tell that to the girls who filled my locker with tampons. Yes, _just_ like in the movie _Carrie_.

"_Aradia!"_ the teacher's shout jolted me back to the present.

"Yea?" I asked. The teacher, Mrs. Guthrie(though I still find it hard to believe that _any_one would marry her), glared at me with her sharp eyes. I immediately sat up straight. _God_, she crept me out. The way she would look at you, she almost looks _hungry_.

"Pay attention, Miss Aradia. I apologize if I _bore_ you." The class snickered, but silenced when Mrs. Guthrie looked at them, too.

* * *

As I switched my books at my locker, my best bud, Susie came over. Her face was bright red from laughing.

"_Oh_ my _God!_ You did that, didn't you! Just-just-omigod!" she paused, and tried to regain control of her face muscles again, "You are such bitch sometimes, you know that, girl?"

"You and I both. You know, it wasn't that funny," I replied, grabbing my health book and slamming my locker, "But, hey, the poem reallllly sucked, I was bored, so I just figured… 'Hey, let's just jazz it up a bit!'" While Susie is just a plain, regular homo sapient, she was very familiar with my abilities. I mean, well, I had to give her _some_ sort of answer when we were ten years old and I'd decided to change outfits at the last second just by snapping my fingers.

"I hear a song comin' up, girl!

_Aradia's a witchy girl_

_But such a little bitchy girl_

_Stirrin' up the cauldrons, makin' em' all pop_

_And a single little poem will just blow her off the top!_"

I covered up my ears to try to block the horrid rapping sound coming from Susie. Did I mention she sometimes just randomly breaks out in song? Well, she does. A lot. Badly. When it was over, I flicked her ear with my finger. Hard.

"_Heeey!_ It's not my fault you don't know a good tune when you hear it!"

"It's not my problem I'm still waiting for one!" I laughed back. I stopped when I heard loud footsteps and a familiar shout. I winced.

It was Todd Pecker, _the_ biggest jock of the whole Central High School. There wasn't a single in-crowd girl who hadn't gone out with him. He's been trying to get my attention for over a week now. I turned my back to him and made my way to health, but a very muscular arm blocked my path.

"Hey, so this weekend I was thinking-" He stopped mid sentence before I grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, quite painfully, I might add.

"Fuck off already, 'kay?" I told him with a gentle smile on my face, and I could hear him whimper a bit, I think. I released and sped walked until I reached Health.


	2. two docters and a weird airship

The end of the day came sooner than I'd thought. I was on my way to my car when Susie knocked into me.

"You don't like Todd, I take it?"

"You take it correctly."

"You know he's gonna be back, right?"

"Mhm," I threw my backpack in the back and hopped into my seat, "Let's ride."

* * *

The ride home was surprisingly smooth. I blasted Lady GaGa the whole way(_Love_ Bad Romance!). Now, when I reached my street, I could immediately sense something was off, strange. When pulled up in the driveway, I saw why.

There was a huge friggin' airship right outside our garage. And my parents were still at work. I cast my senses. There were two men standing by the back door, waiting for someone to come to the door. I immediately jumped out of the car and ran over.

"What the hell is this?" I shouted at the men, pointing to the airship, "and who are you?" I scanned over the two strangers. Both had short black hair. One had pinkish glasses and a bluish-grayish suit, while the other had a weird visor and a coat obviously meant for colder and harsher weather that this. Pink glasses spoke.

" My name is Dr. Beeman, and this is Dr. Cheechoo, and we're here to see Mrs. Alan. It's of a personal matter." His voice was sort of annoying, and reminded me of a character's voice from _Freakazoid_.

"My mom's not going to be home for another hour, so you can either leave or wait for a while," I replied coolly, "and why the hell did you bring an _airship_?"

The other one, Dr. Cheechoo, replied, "Are you familiar with what your mother is?"

"A witch? Well, _yeah_. Aren't _you_ the expert?" I said sourly. I heard a car door open.

"Aradia? What's happenin', girl?" Susie came over and gasped when she saw the giant airship, "Ho. Ly. Shit. You have a fuckin' UFO in driveway!"

"Hey! My ship is _not_ a UFO!" Beeman informed her. I turned back to him, "Look, if you don't move that giant piece of shit so I can put my car away, I will move it _for_ you. Right now." I gave him a cold stare. He met my glare, "Look, Spiky. I-" he saw my eyes.

See, whenever people met my eyes straight on, they always got crept out. You see, I have deep green irises that are outlined with black. My mom said that they were signs of a powerful magic. Dr. Cheechoo finally spoke up to break the silence.

"We're sorry to cause you trouble, but we need to speak with your mother." I sighed, "If it's_ that _important and related to magic, I might be able to help. You can come inside _if_ you move you're giant plane thingy." I went over to Susie and told her I'd talk to her later, and she went home.

So, after they _finally_ moved the airship enough so that she could put her car away, Aradia unlocked the house and they went inside.

* * *

**So, do you like it? I promise you, it _will_ pick up as it progresses, but I seriously got to work on my hw. Please review.**

**(lots of hits +good reviews= more exciting chapters)  
**


	3. no, you haven't explained enough yet

**OMG! I got so many hits and visitors and reviews, I was sooooo hyper last night! Thanks so much for the reviews! (And I promise to cut down on the cussing) Here's the third chapter, then!**

* * *

"So, then, what is it you want help with?" I asked, my anticipation eased from a few sips of chamomile tea. I had offered both the strange doctors each a cup, but they declined. They also jumped when I simply put the tea bag in a teacup with cold water, put my hand over it, and it became steaming hot. Dr. Cheechoo shifted in his chair at the kitchen table.

"Are you familiar with the word, 'cryptids?'" he asked looking up at me, but I couldn't fully tell with his wacky visor thing on.

"Cryptid: a creature whose existence has been suggested but lacks scientific support. Read a few stories as a kid. Not _nearly_ as fascinating as herbology, but still an interesting topic. Why?" I asked. I cast my senses again to try to get a read off of them.

"You're cryptozoologists, aren't you?" I asked again. I mentally chuckled. A couple of doctors specializing in non-existent creatures? Geez, get _real_! Beeman spoke in his annoying, fiction-like voice.

"Yes. Yes, we are. We're a part of a group called the Secret Scientists, keeping track of cryptids worldwide, and making sure they don't run a muck." I'm sorry. I couldn't help it. It was an uncontrollable urge, and I burst out laughing.

"_Secret Scientists_? _Seriously_? You gotta be kidding me!" More like Band of Bozos! I looked up again and saw the expressions on their faces.

"Oh…you _are_ serious, aren't you? …oookay…" I slowly said. Beeman rubbed his forehead and sighed heavily.

"When did you say Mrs. Alan would be back?" he sighed again. I rolled my eyes, "Not for a while. Geez, I'll shut up, 'kay?" I shut up.

"Cryptids are very much real, and the fact that you don't believe they are means that we're doing our job. Now, how much did you say you know about cryptids?" Cheechoo asked.

"Not much. Like I said, read a few kids' books about them. Other than that, nada," I replied flatly.

"So, I take it you've never watched Weird World then, hm?" Beeman asked with a curious accent. I looked at him quizzically.

"_Weird World_? No, can't saw I have. What is it? Sounds like a dumb kids' show," I answered. Beeman's face eased a bit.

"It is, but it's a dumb kids' show about cryptids. It's been off air for a while now," Cheechoo said, "but that's not what I'm going to talk about. A while back, your mother, Mrs. Alan, lived in an area where at the time a wild, rabid wolf-like cryptid was loose. She actually helped us restrain it. According to her, it had some kind of connection to magic. She didn't get into details, but that's why we came here," he paused here, "Aradia, do you know if this creature has any kind of connection to a powerful cryptid called Kur?" I blinked.

"Kur? What kind of creature's that supposed to be?" I asked, "_Goddess_, it'd be so much simpler to do a _táth meanma_1, but seeing that doing it on a regular human would just fry their minds…never mind." I stopped talking when I heard another car pull up in the driveway.

"And that would be my mom," I said, and headed to the back door, where my mom entered with wide eyes.

"Aradia, why is there a huge-?"

"Yeah, 'bout that? Some guys called 'Secret Scientists' are in the kitchen for ya," I quickly told her. When we came back into the kitchen, my mom gasped a bit.

"Paul? Arthur? _Goddess_, it's been years…what's going on?" she asked with a confused expression on her face.

* * *

1 _Wiccan mind meld, to look into each others minds and see their life  
_

* * *

**So, did I leave you hanging? Oh, and just to let you know, this is _after_ Kur rising, and _before_ the secret scientists know the truth about Zak.  
Please review and tell me what you think!**


	4. heck with hw, i wanna listen in!

**With all the reviews, I could hardly stop typing! This chapter _is_ shorter than the others, though. After this, the other Secret Scientists will come up, hopefully. So, please, read on, review, tuck in your shirt, eat your peas, and** **_whatever_ y****ou do...**

**do _not _stick** **your finger in a pencil sharpener!!!!!!!!!(Looooong story!)**

* * *

As my mom sat down talking to Beeman and Cheechoo, my dad _finally_ walked in. Like mom, his face showed that he was still trying to digest the fact that there was a giant airship blocking part of our driveway.

"Honey? Why is there-" he started, but then when he saw the odd doctors in the kitchen, he looked at me and asked, "Do I even _want_ to know?" I shrugged.

"Believe me, I'm still trying to find out what the hell's going on."

"_Language_, missy." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeeeeeeeah… I'm gonna go to my room to do my homework. 'F you need me, just send me a witch message." I should probably explain a bit more about my abilities. One really cool thing is sending witch messages. What we do is mentally send someone a message instantly. Kinda like IMing, but even quicker. We also have Mage Sight, which is basically cat vision. Our eyes are better that most, and we have little to _no_ trouble seeing in the dark. There's a _lot_ more things we can do, but then I'd be explaining it to you night into the next morning.

Susie said that I could be a modern-day supergirl. After she told me that, I threatened to kill her in her sleep with a chainsaw, and I_ will _do the same to anyone else who suggests that. Cause seriously: just picture that. I'm on a broomstick with a black robe and pointy hat. I see someone robbing the bank, and command them in the name of the Goddess to stop their horrendous work. I, like my mom, am a _huge_ believer of the threefold rule: whatever you send out into the world will eventually come back to you threefold. But…no. _Any_ who.

When I got to my room, I closed my door shut and said a spell for eavesdropping. (What, you thought I was really gonna do my homework? Ha! I did it all in study hall last period!)

"…Braedon Wolf? No, not that I know of. The Braedon Wolf is merely a cryptid originating from a spelled dog of the Woodbanes. Nothing Sumerian about it," I heard my mom say.

"A spelled dog?" sounded like Beeman.

"Yes. The Woodbanes, or at least the old ones, are the most vicious witch clan from the days of the great trials. They're all very powerful," that was my mom again, "But if that's all you wanted to ask me, you could have easily just talked over the phone." I could almost picture my mom squinting her eyes at them.

"Why _did_ you come here?" I stayed as silent as I could. Aaah! The anticipation's frickin' _killing_ me! I heard someone sigh heavily(most likely Beeman) and then _finally_ talking!

"Cryptid sightings have for some unknown reason spiked record levels recently. Why: we have no clue," said Cheechoo, "We can barely keep up with all the activity. Dr. Grey's full up in her work, Professor Mizuki and his dog-tiger have their hands, claws , whatever full, and the Saturdays have their fair share. Heck, we barely even see Doc and Drew anymore." Wow. I wasn't sure if I liked where this conversation was going.

"What exactly are you suggesting?" My mom asked warily. It's very hard hard to keep _any_thing from my mom. She's like empathic.

"Emera…how would feel about joining the Secret Scientists? Or, at least helping us out?"

* * *

**Dun Dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUUN! please let me know what you think!**


	5. My name is NOT Spiky!

No, no, no… mom, say _no!_ We're just fine as is, and I don't think I can keep back my sarcasm any longer! I'll repeat again what I think: Secret Scientists is _the_ dumbest name on _Earth_! Cheechoo looks like an Eskimo, and Beeman looks and sounds reeeeeeeaally gay!

"I'd be more than willing to help you. Besides, I believe I _do _owe you a favor. But… how often will an airship come flying in?" _Mom_, noooooooooooooooo!!

"I'm glad you asked that. Since it would be nice to not get anymore mouth from your _wonderful_ teenager, or any complaints from neighbors… how would you feel about moving?" That, of course, was Beeman. Whom I'm going to _kill!_

_Moving?!?!????_ I'd glue my feet to the ground, or move in with Susie before I move!

I repeat: MOVING?????????????????????????? I listened in closer, raising the volume of my spell. I wasn't hearing my mom speaking yet.

_Shit!_ Not good, not good.

"I…moving?…that's not something I can decide right upfront," YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! That you Mom!!!!!!!

"But…" _Oh, Goddess!_

"I _will_ get back to you later on. I'd have to discuss with Aradia, whom _I know is listening in right now!"_ Like I said: no secrets between her and me. I could hear my dad chuckle.

"I did _not_ teach her that one!" No, he didn't. _He_ taught me how to sabotage a water fountain for an unsuspecting victim, and how to punch (when you're making a fist, don't put your thumb inside your fist. Otherwise, you _will_ break it! Oh, and always aim for the nose). I walked in the room with my arms crossed and pleading eyes towards my mom, who glared at me with her signature look,

"Aradia, _what have I told you about eavesdropping!_ If I have to bind your powers to get you to stop, don't think I won't," she told me very sternly.

"But, _moving,_ Mom? You can't be serious!"

"I said, I'll _think about it!_" she replied. Beeman and Cheechoo eyed each other as if conversing through eye contact.

"How would you feel about going to a meeting with us?" Cheechoo asked, "Maybe then you can decide?"

"Let me guess," I said with the fakest sweet voice I could muster up, "mouthy _teenagers_ aren't allowed?" Beeman smiled (I think I shuddered).

"Why, you're _ab_solutely right, Spiky. _You_ get to baby-sit Porcupine while the adults talk." I shifted my weight onto my other foot. My black hair might be boy-like short _and_ a little spiky, but he is _so_ asking for it.

"You know, if my mom didn't know you, I'd say a spell to give you _the_ worst seven years of bad luck you'd ever come to witness. So, if I were you, I'd shut the f*** up right about now," I replied with a straight face. My mom, of course, sent me a witch message saying that I was pretty much in a heap of trouble, but I didn't care.

"So…when would this meeting be?" my mom asked. I mentally groaned and looked at Dad pleadingly. He shook his head at me. Cheechoo finally answered.

"It'll be in about a week. We'll be discussing our findings and try to piece together the information. Seriously, _none_ of us can find out the cause!" He sighed, "I'm thinking about talking to Doc again about that Antarctic Monster he briefly mentioned before. At this point, I'm willing to look at _all_ the new cryptids loose!"

I went back to my room and closed the door. Then I spelled it so that my mom couldn't cast her senses in here to see what I was doing. Like mother, like daughter. I grabbed my cell and dialed up Susie. Busy line. Big surprise. That girl is the biggest talker I've known besides our class president (and yes, we actually have a class president for high school! Lamest. Idea. Yet.)!

I thought about what the wacko doctors said. Who's the porcupine Captain Dip Wad mentioned? Eh, probably one of the "Secret Scientists" brats. What else did they mention?

_Weird World!_ They said it was a TV show. I flipped open my laptop and let Google do its thang. After getting past all the results that contained atlas, bugs, and other wacky results, I found a link that was labeled, 'V.V. Argost's Weird World.'

Well, that sounded right. After I clicked the link, a voice came from it saying, "Greetings and bienvenue!" What a weird accent. There was a picture of a largish figure with a blue cape, white hair, and a mask. Goddess… he just screamed bad news.

Masks usually signified that you had something to hide. I looked down at his claw-like hands. This dude either had a lot of plastic surgery, or a lot of cool props.

I shook my head. I had other things to worry about, and none of them contained a child's entertainment program…

* * *

**Up next, meet the rest of the 'Band of Bozos,' ****as Aradia so kindly put it!  
**

**Let me know your thoughts!**


	6. Meet the Band of Bozos

So… I _know _you don't want me to bore you with what happened in school for the rest of the week… so, yeah. School was the same; I talked to Susie, who was already begging her mom for me to live at their house so I wouldn't have to move.

"What was that Eskimo guy like? He was sort of hot looking, you gotta admit!" she had asked. I groaned (a habit that I was growing into recently).

"Susie…do you know that you disgust me sometimes?" I told her.

"Just for your sake, girl," she had replied.

And, of course, Todd was constantly trying to "make his move," but was, as always, unsuccessful. Bottom line: _I_ got detention while _he_ got a heavy-duty tissue for his bleeding nose. If anyone asks, he pushed too hard. After that, he pretty much avoided me, but still stared at my chest (_another_ reason I would never go out with him!)

I didn't use my magic, so my mom couldn't yell at me _too_ much, but still did. My dad, with my mom present, scolded me, but later when she went into the other room, gave me a buck and told me nice job. That's just the guy he is: he's not as a powerful witch like my mom is, but still could make due.

That's how my week went by. Then, on Friday, we got a phone call.

"Hello, Emera speaking," my mom answered. She heard someone familiar, apparently, and engaged into a long conversation. One that was blocked from my hearing, thanks to my mom's charm. Hmm, this obviously meant that it had to be Beeman, Cheechoo, or another one of their Bozos. After twenty _loooooong_ minutes of conversing, my dear mother hung up.

"The meeting's tomorrow night," she told us. Dad's eyebrows rose, and I mouthed, "_Ah, shit!_" Unfortunately, my mom caught it, and I was sent to my room.

No biggy. I didn't have anymore homework(thank you Goddess, for the gift of study hall!), so scyed with fire.

To scry is to look into one of the four elements and see the past, present, or sometimes even future. I was best with fire, which was difficult with most witches.

I grabbed a candle and lit it with my mind. I focused my thoughts and thought about tomorrow night.

_Show me! Speak to me, flame!_ I silently chanted into it. I waited.

Then, out of nowhere, I was met with a bright light. I covered my eyes to block the sun-like glow emitting from the candle.

The hell was this? I could tell through my closed eyes the light died down a bit, so I looked straight at it.

It wasn't just a light, it was an aura: an extremely strong aura coming from a small figure. After ten seconds, the light faded completely, and I was merely looking at an ordinary flame again.

It was a kid. I knew it wasn't a midget, I could just _tell_ that way. I could sense youth, and something that _reeked_ with power! The thing that scared me the most is that, while it was something mystical, it wasn't witch magic! Nothing Wiccan about it!

I heard someone coming to my room, so I snuffed out the candle and just lay on my bed, taking out my copy of _Wicca: The Best Practical Spells for The Practical Witch_. It was my mom. She came over and sat on my bed and gently took the book out of my hands and put it on my nightstand.

"Aradia, I _know_ you're not happy with me going to the meeting, but these are _good_ people who need all the help they can get!" she said softly, "All I need you to do is, like Dr. Beeman said, baby-sit Dr. and Mrs. Saturday's son."

"You mean _porcupine_? What's the kid's real name?" I asked. She pondered for a moment or two, trying to remember.

"I believe he said his name was _Zak_… Yes, that was it," she replied, and then smiled, "Oh, and Aradia?"

"Yeah?"

"How much do you like animals, or should I say in this case, cryptids?" I just sat there, staring at my mom with bored eyes. She smiled,

"I thought so,"

* * *

Friday night and Saturday morning went by like a snap, in which time I meditated and researched cryptids. I was dressed in nice jeans, boots, and a blue Aeropostal shirt, which my mom had bought me. She also forced me to take out my eyebrow piercing, and only let me ware studs on my ears. I do _not_ understand my mom's logic sometimes. I mean, it's not like _I'm_ gonna care if some little brat, or some crazy scientist, stare at my duds! I got it all the time in school, so how is this any different?

Around six, an airship came. It was Beeman's. Oh, Goddess, I don't thing I'm gonna make it to tomorrow if I have to listen to his voice again!

"Uh, Mom? _Why_ again can't we just drive?" I asked her, whining, practically.

"Dr. Beeman's place is on a remote, private island, and air is the only way we can get there," she answered.

So, my parents said hello and whatnot, and we got on. If it's okay with you, I'm just gonna skip the ride there.

* * *

"_Never_ again will I go on that _death_ machine!" I yelled after we got off. I'll admit, the island was pretty nice looking, with the lab completely hidden. The ride there…not so much. While I'm normally fine on an airplane ride, _Beeman_ went through as many clouds as he could find, I think! When my mom wasn't looking, I shot him a bird, who in return glared at me.

As we walked deeper into the place, it became a high-tech lab. Wow…this is like _the_ best place to go if you loved test tubes and microscopes. Then I saw _it_.

"HOLY SH-" I cried out, but my mom stopped me. She turned to the ten-foot monster and spoke.

"I apologize, Pr. Mizuki, my daughter isn't used to cryptids quite yet." The beast (Mizuki?) in return spoke _back!_

"It's nothing I haven't gotten used to, Mrs. Allen." They conversed for a bit. I saw a few other people. I stood off to the side and tried to avoid any confrontation for the next fifteen minutes. Then I felt something; a presence. A very strong one. I cast my senses hard, with determination. I silently gasped!

It was the same powerful presence that I scryed yesterday! I looked over at my mom, who was also looking in my direction. I asked her through witch messaging,

_Do you feel that?_ , with concern in my voice and wide eyes. She nodded slowly. At that moment, a large orange airship came through the same entrance Beeman had used. After it landed, a tall broad African American man and a lean Caucasian woman with long white hair came down. Neither of them were the presence I'd sensed. As they walked over to us, I saw a little boy, couldn't be much older that twelve or thirteen, came off the airship with a sasquach and a komodo dragon!

I decided _not _to scream, for then I would be in _bigger_ trouble than I was already in.

I used my mage sight and looked at him.

I think my mouth dropped wide open, but I couldn't tell. All I know is that that kid has one _hell_ of a power signature, and the aura I told you about before. The boy talked to the couple (obviously his parents) and rolled his eyes and nodded. His gaze shifted over to me, and then back to his parents with a protesting face. He groaned and nodded again. They walked again over in our direction and greeted and talked. The boy went over by me and said,

"Hi, I'm Zak." We shook hands.

"Name's Aradia, and apparently we're stuck with each other for the night."

* * *

**Whatcha think? I gotta go to guitar practice, so this is all you get for right now.**

**It's my longest chapter yet!!!!!!!!!  
**


	7. Do you attack EVERYone you meet?

**Hey there! I hope all of you caught the LAST SECRET SATURDAYS EPISODE EVER!!!!!!!!!! **

**Or, maybe _not_ the last episode ever... Ah, what do I know? All I know is that while CN network doesn't like TSS, **

**THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH WILL LIVE ON THROUGH US!!!!!!!!!!!!!**

**Never let the pen die, and like some really wise dead guy said,**

**"The pen is mightier than the sword, though the sword is still useful to have sometimes."  
**

* * *

"How long's this meeting supposed to _be_?" I asked with as much enthusiasm as a zombie. My mom looked at me in the eyes and said,

"Complain one more time, and not only will I bind your powers when we get back, but I'll _also_ take away your laptop!" I rolled my eyes again. This is going to be a loooooooooooooooong night.

So, about Zak. According to him, he has a special power to influence cryptids. Born with it, apparently. He's telling the truth, I can tell, but… my mom and I both know he's hiding something. Big. With a power signature _that_ big, you just know something's up.

Oh, and apparently the last time he was baby-sat, he tricked the baby-sitter to leave for a few hours, in which time a mentally insane flesh-eating chef had broken into the house! Oh, what a _jolly_ good time this will be, I can tell! Eh, if it gets too crazy, I could always just slip him some catnip and chamomile tea, and he'll be out like a light. Aaaahhh… the beauty of a simple, herbal remedy.

I would be watching him on the airship, which was basically a mansion with an engine. The giant sasquach was Fiskerton, and the komodo dragon was Komodo. My, my, what an original name. Zak, who obviously loved his place, gave me the grand tour of the airship.

"Has this always been your home?" I asked. What a weird life it would be to live on a giant flying machine.

"No, just recently," he replied. He had something on his mind that was obviously bugging him. I decided not to ask about his old home.

"So, my mom told me that you have powers, too. What are they?" he seemed pretty excited about asking that, and to change the subject.

"I'm a powerful Wiccan blood witch," I stated plainly, "but if you start addressing me as Witch, or a certain other word that rhymes with it, I _will_ curse you." Zak laughed, which sort of surprised me.

"A _witch_? Seriously? Sweet…" he said, "So…what kind of abilities do witches have? Do they really fly on broomsticks, and what's with the black garbs? And why do witches always have a big wart on their nose…" _Goddess_, this kid didn't stop _talking_! After sitting there for a minute just listening to all of his nonsense questions, I simply went behind him, grabbed the back of his neck, and spoke an immobilization charm. He immediately stopped talking and was frozen in place. Fiskerton started talking his weird freaked out baby talk.

"That's just one of the _many_ things that I can do. Do broomsticks even _look_ comfortable to sit on? In the _air_?" I could see a slight twitch of his head shaking right to left, "Exactly. And does it _look_ like I have a wart? And while I prefer black clothes, yes, I'm Goth, my dear mother made me ware _this_ atrocious piece of trash," I said gesturing to my shirt.

I then went back over to Zak to reverse the charm, but Fisk was blocking me, growling.

"Look, Sasquach, I'm just going to undo the spell, _that's_ it! I promise!" I told him with my hands raised a bit.

"Unless you want to wait for its effects to ware off in a few hours. Or days. Really depends how mind-strong he is," I informed him giving him a straight face. When he didn't budge, I sighed and raised my hand with a flaming and sparking ball of witch fire. _That_ made him back off a bit. I walked over to the back of Zak and undid the charm, who, in return, took out a weird staff with a claw at the end of it and shot it at me. I saw it coming, of course, and leaped out of the way.

"You _really_ don't want to mess with me, kid. I've had a shitty week, and you're only adding to it."

His claw, attached to a wire, returned back to the staff. I smiled a bit. The kid had some style. I still don't trust him, though. He smiled in return.

"You know…what happens to _you_ if I happen to sneak off the airship on your watch?" he said slyly.

"_Way_ ahead of you on that. I heard what you did to the last guy, and trust me right now: it won't work," I told him, "I have witch senses; the last guy didn't." Zak gave a sheepish grin.

"You heard about Beeman?" he asked. I laughed out loud. _Really_ loud!

"_Beeman?_ _That's_ who watched you?" I tried to regain control over my facial muscles again, "Oh Goddess…you got style, alright. I definitely would have done the same thing in your place." Right now, we were in what looked to be a living room. I gazed over the picture frames on a side table. They were all of the Saturday family. I saw a redheaded man with Zak, smiling. I pointed to it.

"Hey, who's that guy?" I asked. Zak looked in the direction of my pointed finger.

"Oh, that's my uncle Doyle. He's awesome," he replied with a grin, " 'Cept he's busy with some other cryptid thing right now, so it's been a while since I've seen him." I smiled. This might just be an okay night after all.

* * *

"So, besides attacking people, what _do_ you do for fun?" I asked, "Movies, board games, what?" Zak smiled an evil-like grin.

"Wanna eavesdrop in on the scientists?" I shook my head.

"Fat chance. My mom knows me too well. I can't use my magic to broadcast it here, and my mom'll know if we step one _foot_ off this thing, so…no." Then I got an idea. One that my mom doesn't even know about me yet.

"You got a candle I can use? I think I might know our solution…"

* * *

**Remember what she did with a candle after she learned when the meeting was? Huh? Well, if you don't, your bad.**


	8. Can I just get a straight answer, here?

**Hi again! So, where we left off: Aradia is about to scry in order to spy on the meeting. The only problem: scrying can be a _little_ haard to control sometimes, especially if you're doing it with more than one person.**

**What will happen?**

**Will Aradia learn the truth about Zak?**

**Why am I asking you these ridiculous questions when the answers are on the same page?**

**READ ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
**

* * *

"How's this supposed to work, anyway?" Zak asked when he came back with a tea light candle. I took it and set it on the coffee table.

"It's really simple. You see: my mom doesn't know that _I_ know how to scry yet. 'Nother words, she wouldn't have blocked the room from being scryed," I replied focusing my energy. Zak looked hopelessly confused now. I rolled my eyes at him and explained.

"Really. Freaking. Simple: using the flame from the candle," at which time I lit with my mind and made Zak and Fisk jump back a bit, "I can hear _and_ see what goes on in their meeting room. Understand now?" His mouth hung open, staring at the flame.

"That is one of the _coolest_ things I've seen lately!" he said in awe.

"Just shut up for right now, 'kay? I have to focus!" I stared into the flame, chanting what came in my head. There were a few minor mental blocks placed around the room, which I easily bypassed.

Show me! Let the power be made visible not only to me, but my friends present next to me! I sent my thoughts to the flame and motioned for Zak and Fisk to take my hands. They came over to my side and did so. I kept feeding my energy to the candlewick, causing the flame to expand. I had it under my control, though. Fire was my element, my ally. Alive, yet not.

An image began to come into view, but I couldn't make heads or tails of the thing. I willed it to come into focus.

It was a head. Not a human head, I could tell that, but like an animal head. The thing itself was an object with a handle on it. It had crazed eyes and a full set of pointed teeth painted on there. It was dulled among the flames light.

"_Ah!_" I yelled a bit, a familiar blinding light coming back into view in the candlelight. It was the aura: _Zak's _aura. When it came within reach of the animal head thing, the object glowed radiantly, like a well-rested lightning bug waking from a long slumber.

I felt my hands tighten. I looked at Zak, who was now sweating, and Fisk was making his nervous noises again.

"Zak?" I asked him, waving my hands in front of his face, "Yoo-hoo, anybody home?" Nothing. His eyes were glued to the image of the animal head, scared as all hell.

"_Zak!_" I yelled. I gave up and finally blew out the candle. Only then did he start blinking and aware of his surroundings.

"What was _that_ all about? You trying to give me a friggin' heart attack?" I yelled again. He stared at me with worried eyes.

"I thought you said you were going to use it to spy on the Secret Scientists!" he complained. I sighed heavily and grasped my forehead.

"When you join with someone else, the other person, or persons, have to concentrate on the _meeting_, not whatever the hell _that_ was!" I told him, pointing at the blown out candle. Zak hung his head and groaned. Ok, if I _ever_ want to find out what's up with this kid, I gotta push a little.

"You mind telling me what that creature's head was all about? And why your aura activated that glow?" I questioned with a bit of concern. I'm serious: if he doesn't tell me, I'm gonna _spell_ his mouth to talk _for_ him.

"My aura?" he asked nervously, "what's that have to do with anything?" I stared down at him hard with my odd irises, which, of course, freaked him out a little.

"Don't even _think_ about playing dumb with me. Your aura was in the flame, just _screaming_ power. _Your_ power signature activated that thing's glow."

Fisk growled and stepped in front of Zak, who was starting to look a tad pale. Zak exhaled a breath he probably didn't even know he was holding.

"It's okay, Fisk. She's right." Fisk looked at Zak and started talked to him in whatever language he speaks in.

"Fisk, if she tells the others what she saw, it's over! Mind as well just tell her!" Zak argued with him. He looked at me with begging eyes, and I arched my eyebrows.

"Uh… how much do you know about Kur?" he asked me sheepishly. _Kur_? Where have I heard that name before? I snapped my fingers in realization.

"When Beeman and Cheechoo came over for the first time, they mentioned it. It's a cryptid, right? I remember them describing it as an incredibly powerful cryptid…" Zak scratched the back of his head.

"Yeeeeeeeeeaah… about that…"

* * *

**Just to clear up anything: the animal head in the flame's image _is_ the Naga Kur-detector thingy.I gotta get off now, because I still have math, science, English, and a whole bunch of other homework to do.**

**How again do I have enough time to waste typing away for your enjoyment????**

**Eh...no one knows (not even me!), but, story writing _is_ kinda fun...

* * *

**

**Favorite quote of the day:**

**"_Come back here and I'll bite your legs off!"_**

**Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail, The Black Knight scene.  
**


	9. Adults have reeeaally boring meetings

**Hey there! Sorry I didn't put up a chapter yesterday, but I had to study for a reallllllllly complex Biology test: the smallest details on RNA. 'Twas simply murder, my friends. I hoping for at least a B, but one never knows until the grades are posted.**

**Enough about my boring life! Let Aradia continue telling her eventful night!**

**READ ON!  
**

* * *

I blinked. Just…wow…

Please, don't mind me. I'm just trying to swallow the fact that this twelve-year old boy, whom I'm baby-sitting, is the ultimate bringer of doom for mankind. A cryptid. I just sat there on the couch. Well, it _did_ explain a few things: why he and his family were constantly keeping themselves busy and away from the Secret Scientists, why he's so powerful, and why Fisk and Komodo are so protective of him. _And_ I finally learned why no one likes Weird World.

"And I thought _I _had a lot on my plate. Wow," I suddenly said, breaking the silence, which startled everyone else in the room.

"Seriously, if it was me in your place, I think I would have hung myself by now."

We chuckled nervously. I remembered something, then.

"Soooo… do you wanna try scrying with me again?" I asked him. He smiled like a little devil again. I took that as a, 'yes.' I relit the candle, but then hesitated.

"Really quick, when's your designated bedtime?" I asked. He seemed to fake-ponder for a moment before giving me an answer.

"Would you believe me if I said, '10:30?'" he looked at me with those little-kiddish eyes. I raised my eyebrow again, looking right back at him. He looked downward in a sign of defeat and sighed quite dramatically.

"It's nine fourty-five, isn't it?" I asked him. He looked back up at me in surprise.

"How did you-"

"Didn't. Just wondering," I answered him before he could finish and went back to the candle.

"Now, are you going to actually focus this time, or are you going to have to spill another secret?"

* * *

Bottom line: Secret Scientists spoke about everything _but_ interesting topics. Zak marveled at how clear the image was in the flame, though. I paid close attention to Zak's parents. If you listen and watch close enough _long_ enough, you can tell they're covering up something. They merely described how they were going to places where cryptids were going crazy on the locals, contained the situation, and moved on to the next location.

I looked at my mom, too, noting what her reactions were. It was scary, I admit. My entire, little social life was centered on my school, which I might be separated from. It all depended on my mom. I couldn't use any persuasion magic on her, or anything like that. She would know if anyone used magic on her, and once she found out that it was me, she would bind my powers for a _looooooong_ time. I've had it done a couple of times when I was younger, but that was because my powers caused a couple of hectic situations prier to the binding. Let me tell you: it. Is. _Murder! _

My dad was next to my mom, taking notes, I think. Normally I would say that it would make him look like a total geek, but then again, he's _surrounded_ by geeks!

I heard a loud yawn right next to me. It was Fisk. I don't blame him. I'd rather be doing homework if I had any left, right now! I looked at Zak, who was still staring at the other scientists. He was still wide-awake.

I looked at the clock on the wall: 9:30. Oh, _great_! I have to put this kid to bed in _15 minutes_? I got up and took my purse I had brought with me.

"I'll be back in a sec."

I headed towards the kitchen, where I stared heating a small pot of water I had found on the stove. Next, I took out a small bag from my purse: dried catnip and chamomile flowers, the _ultimate_ sleep bringer. I chanted quietly a small spell to strengthen the herbs' affects. For my tea, I'm just going to have green tea. I got two mugs: one for me, and one for soon-to-be sleeping beauty. I took care of the tea, and a minute later I came back to Zak and Fisk, who were still looking into the flame.

"Hey, you might want this: it can be really soothing," I said, handing the cup to Zak. He sniffed it, and took a sip.

"This is good. What is it?" he asked.

"Catnip and chamomile," I responded, guessing that he doesn't know much about herbal properties.

* * *

_**5 minutes later:**_

I blew out the already dim candle and cleaned off the spilled wax. After, I took Zak's mug to the kitchen.

"Hey, Fisk, you mind putting sleeping beauty to bed?" I asked, gesturing to the sleeping form on the couch.

He mumbled something I couldn't understand, but of course he understood me. He took Zak and brought him to his room.

Well, this was sure one hell of a night. No broken bones, no break-ins, no nothing(please pardon my double negative usage!).

I got my purse and took out my fully charged laptop. Thank the _Goddess_ my mom wasn't in the least bit suspicious of me when she saw that I took with a rather large purse! I Googled a couple cryptid names that had come up and read.

You know, I think I'm gonna stop for right now, 'kay? 'Kay.

* * *

**So, what do you think? Yeah, I know, crappy ending, but I have to do some stuff for my mom, and I couldn't bare to leave you off with another tantalizing cliffhanger.**

**_That's_ just cruel and unusual, but also a little expected of me.**

**Oh, well. Until next time!

* * *

**

**Favorite quote of the day:**

**_"We protest you calling us "little kids". We prefer to be called 'vertically-impaired pre-adults.'"_**

**_Yakko Warner, Animaniacs  
_**


	10. You know, I also hate Sundays

**Hey again! I don't think I can do 1 chapter per day any more. I'm going to be aiming for (hopefully) 1 chapter every _other_ day!**

**I'm sorry if this disappoints anyone, but this way the chapters can be longer and better.**

**Read on!  
**

* * *

I had come to the conclusion that I should _not_ tell my mom about Zak. For one thing, I didn't know exactly _how_ cozy she was with the scientists, and it would just be better in general: the fewer that know, the better. That came out wrong, but you get the point.

When my parents came back, they found me typing away on my laptop, with Zak and his pets/cryptid siblings asleep in Zak's room. My mom was highly suspicious of this.

"_What_? At nine forty-five, I told him to go to bed, and he did!" I protested when I received a questioning look. Zak's parents looked at each other in a non-believing way. I rolled my eyes, "Okay, I offered him some chamomile tea, and he accepted it. It's just tea." After ten minutes of saying goodbye, we entered Beeman's death trap again.

Morning

I groggily arose from my bed, cursing the sun's bright rays.

"Aradia! Pancakes!" I could hear my dad shouting. I looked at the clock on my nightstand: after ten-thirty. My parents don't know the meaning of sleeping in, apparently. I put on my gray-colored robe and headed downstairs.

"Morning, Sleepyhead," my mom greeted me. She was already at the table eating her pancakes. I grunted in return. I went over to the coffee maker and poured myself a cup. I took a long sip. Ahhhhh…gotta love coffee.

"I still don't know _why_ on Earth you like that stuff," my mom laughed a bit.

"It's better than directly injecting pure caffeine into my system," I stiffly replied. My mom doesn't understand the necessity of coffee in my life. It just, you know, wakes you up in the morning with a zing! It's even better than tea, though I've never told my mom that. Dad at least understands.

You see: I actually have ADD. I tried the pills in third grade, and, well…I'd rather not go into details about the 'pleasant' side effects. My dad heard somewhere that caffinated coffee actually helps kids with ADD to focus. So, in sixth grade, I started drinking one cup of joe each morning, and everybody could immediately tell the difference.

"Uh…Mom?" I asked looking at her. She looked up from the daily newspaper.

"Yes?"

"With the meeting last night…you never filled me on the details…so?" I asked, implying a certain answer from her. She put the paper down and bit her lip, an unusual action for her.

"Please, Mom, just spill it!" I pleaded.

"Alright, alright…we're _not_ moving," and that was all I needed to hear for me to start jumping up and down with joy.

"_Thank the Goddess_! Thank you Mom!!!" I ran over and hugged her and then hugged my dad, squeezing the life out of the both of them.

"But," she added, and I stopped dead in my tracks. There is _always_ a 'but' with my mom. She can be such a _killjoy _sometimes!

"I'll be going on trips with the other Secret Scientists on occasions. Me. As in _I_ alone." She looked at me with the highest sincerity. I threw my hands up in the air, with a, 'what the hell!' look on my face.

"Dad, are _you_ even going with?" I asked, glancing over at him. He shook his head.

"Nope, you're still stuck with me, Sweety." I made a guttural noise that expressed deep disgust.

"You know, none of the other scientists are witches, or even _believe_ in Wicca, for that matter, and yet from what I've heard, they still kick major ass! They're just recruiting you for your magic, Mom!" I yelled.

"_Language!_" they both yelled back in union. My mom looked at me with her, 'why?' look.

"Aradia, I wasn't born _yesterday_! I _know_ why they wanted me to help! Back when Paul and Arthur first saw me in action against that wolf, they knew that one: I had magic; two: I could control it, and three: I knew how to use it _responsibly_."

We ate breakfast in silence. After I had helped clean up, I went back to my room. As I was changing, my laptop dinged: new IM.

_Zsat9308: It was the in the tea, wasn't it?! :(_

OMG. It was Zak! Okay, _how the hell does a twelve-year kid manage to find out where I live!_ I slapped myself on the forehead: he's the son of two Secret Scientists with a huge computer with Goddess knows what in it! I typed back

_WiccanQueen31: What about the tea?_

_Zsat9308:__ I do NOT normally fall asleep within five minutes!_

_WiccanQueen31:__ I didn't force you to drink it, you know. All it did was relax and calm your nerves._

_Zsat9308:__ I know it was spiked!_

_WiccanQueen31:__ With what?_

_Zsat9308:__ I don't know, whatever you witches use for spiking stuff!_

_WiccanQueen31__: I am getting off now._

Before He could type back, I logged off and continued of with my day.

* * *

**Whatcha think about this one? Just no one asks any questions about it, I chose Zak's IM name because 9308 refers to 9/3/08, the original airing to The Kur Stone.**

**Please review and send me your thoughts!**

**I _do_ look at my reviewers' homepages and stories!**

**Thank you.

* * *

**

**Favorite quote(s) of the day:**

**Guitierrez**: [Guitierrez tries to find Freakazoid's weakness, he pulls a green rock out of his cloak] Behold, the purest Kryptonite. Are you feeling weak, my friend, oh so weak?  
**Freakazoid**: That's Superman's weakness, not mine!  
**Guitierrez**: Really?  
**Freakazoid**: Yeah, duuuuuuhhh!  
**Guitierrez**: [pulls out a yellow pad of paper, and holds it in front of Freakazoid's face] Oh, that stupid man at the store! Then how about this! Does the yellow hurt your eyes, my friend? Feeling weak, oh so very weak?  
**Freakazoid**: That's Green Lantern!  
**Guitierrez**: Oh, shoot!  
[throws it down, picks up a glass of water and throws it in Freakazoid's face]  
**Guitierrez**: Then how 'bout some... water in your face! Are you meling, melting, my friend?  
**Freakazoid**: That's the Wicked Witch!  
**Guitierrez**: Oh, we're wasting time. What is your weakness?  
**Freakazoid**: Well...  
[quick cut to Freakazoid in a cage]  
**Freakazoid**: [to self] Dumb, dumb, dumb! Never tell the villian how to trap you in a cage!  
**Guitierrez**: You probably shouldn't have helped us build it, either.  
**Freakazoid**: I know. Dumb!  
**Guitierrez**: So... graphite bars charged with negative ions. That is your weakness, eh?  
**Freakazoid**: That, or poo gas.

**Freakaziod!**


	11. Mondays can have nasty suprises

**Greetings and bienvenue, or what the heck Argost used to say. Behold, the next chapter in Aradia's life, and special guests near the end!**

**"Who?" you ask?**

**Well, then, _you_ can read on, 'cause I ain't tellin' you nothin'!(excuse the double negative usage!)  
**

* * *

Okay, so skip the rest of Sunday! It was boring and plain, anyway, so it's not like you're missing anything. Monday, today, was back to school. _That_ I was pretty excited about! I'm not moving!!!!!!!!

I caught up with Susie in the hallway and told her _everything_.

"Yes! Oh my God, girl, this is sooooo great! Well, on the downside, you still have Todd eyeing your heavy cleavage," she sighed. I rolled my eyes.

"Like _that's_ a problem! It's better than losing my best friend!" I said, hugging her. We laughed, "and I do _not_ have heavy cleavage! I'm quite in shape, and don't you forget it!" I added.

"So…this _Zak_ kid…has incredible powers that control fictional creatures that can one day take over the world… and you put a _binding_ spell on him? Damn, girl, you got guts," she told me, "How old is he, again?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye. I just stared at her.

"Susie, he's a kid. Twelve! Years! Old! _Goddess_, you-you…are you _sure_ you're human?" I asked her.

"I'm as much a human as you are a bi- I mean witch," she smiled. I let it slide.

So, the day was going fine. In first period, the first class I have Todd in, I noticed he wasn't there. Believe me: this kid, for the jerk he is, goes to _all_ his classes. He's a jerk when it comes to girls, but he's not stupid with academics. He _knows_ he's screwed if he doesn't graduate.

I asked the girl next to me, Jeslyn, a former Todd girl.

"Hey, where's Todd?" She shrugged.

"Don't know. Why? From what _I've_ heard, _you're_ the one who gave him a bloody nose!" Then class started at the sound of the bell. _Finally_, the teacher, Mr. Brandee, came in.

"Alright, kids, quiet down," he said in a monotone voice. No one listened, of course, so he repeated it, "Quiet down, kids," still nothing, "I said: _**QUIET DOWN, KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!**_"

I could hear the crickets in the distance and a pin dropping in the hallway. Mr. Brandee was the male version of Sister Mary Elephant. And if you don't know who Sister Mary Elephant is, I strongly suggest you look it up on Youtube and listen to it( it's not a video, it's a radio thing by cheechoo and chong, actually, but still listen to it!)

"Now, class, I have some unfortunate news today," he began, "Mr. Pecker has suddenly moved to a different school due to, uh… 'personal issues,' and will _not_ be coming back any time soon."

I had to do everything in my power _not_ to start jumping up and down in utter joy! Wait till I tell Susie!

"Now, today we're going to start our new lesson on the Renaissance. Can anyone here tell me what the Renaissance_ is?_" Another day in History. Booooooooring!

History itself is very interesting, especially discussing the different religions, but… you'd understand my deep pain if _you_ had Mr. Brandee.

"Damn! You are soooooooooo lucky that you didn't get sued!" Susie told me loudly when passing period came around.

"Yeah, _that'd_ look great for him! High School Junior Todd Pecker sues fellow girl classmate for physical violence: just perfect for his enormous ego," I shot back.

There was a click noise: the intercom was being turned on. The intercom system here is ancient. I'm surprised it hasn't caught on fire with all that old wiring, or something like that.

"_Miss Aradia Allen, please report to the front office. Miss Aradia Allen, please report to the front office immediately. Thank you._"

Susie and I looked at each other with confused faces.

"Oookay… is Todd really a weenie after all?" I slowly asked.

"Good luck, girl!" she patted me on the back and walked off.

* * *

When I went into the office, I decided to try to explain myself right away.

"Really, it's not my fault Todd left, I mean-"

"Aradia, it's not about Mr. Pecker, though I _should_ talk to you later about that," the principal chuckled a bit, "I didn't know you were that well known, I admit, but…" he gestured to two people in the room as well. My eyes widened.

There was a tall, pale man in a green suit and weird glasses, and a boy, looking around Zak's age, actually, with the same pale look and green outfit, though more accustomed to his age.

"Aradia, this is Mr. Epsilon and his son, Francis," he began, "Apparently, Francis is thinking about enrolling here in later years, and wanted a shadowing day."

"Then, why doesn't he shadow a freshman?" I asked curiously. Mr. McCreepy Pants spoke up.

"My son is going to be taking advanced classes, about the same ones you're taking. We would appreciate it if you show him around." Even his _voice_ creeped me out. The principal eyed me, mentally telling me to go along with it.

"Why not?" I smiled, but really, he gave off a bad aura, both of them.

* * *

**Dun Dun Duuuuuuuuuuun!(again) **

**So, are excited? Can you stand the wait for the next chapter?**

**Well, whether you're tingling with anticipation or not, you'll just have to wait!**

**Please review!**

**

* * *

**

**Favorite quote of the day:**

_**"Politics: "Poli" a Latin word meaning "many"; and "tics" meaning "bloodsucking creatures"**_

**Robin Williams**_**, **_**one of my favorite comedians  
**


	12. Again, Mondays can reallllly suck!

**I'm ba-aack! And I auditioned for my school's jazz choir today, so wish me luck!**

**Nuff 'bout my life, back to my story already!**

**Read on!!!!!!!!!!  
**

* * *

So, I got a (twelve year old?) kid walking around with me for a day all around school. Exciting, right?

Well, if you're an over eccentric babysitter, sure, I guess.

Translation: _major_ suckitude, and I'm _not _over exaggerating.

"So…what school are you going to now?" I asked slowly. He looked up. He seems shy, but…there's definitely something up with the kid. He seems…well; he just seems creepy, okay?

"I…go to a _private_ school, I guess you could call it," he replied with noted hesitation. I raised my eyebrows at him. From the looks of it, his private school must've been pretty strict. He looks like one of those little soldiers in that old show _Dark Angel_ (if you've never heard of it, again, look it up on Youtube).

As we were walking to my next class, AP English, I saw Susie, and (Joy!) she saw us and rushed over.

"Omigod, girl, what happened? I know it's only been, like, ten minutes, but someone started a rumor that you're getting kicked out!" how she got that out in one breath still surprises me. She looked from me to Jr. and frowned.

"Who's the twerp?" She asked pointing very rudely to him.

"This _twerp_, as you say, has a name, you know," he retorted back, "while it might be too much for your small, compacted brain to handle, at least have the decency of using it." I. Was. Shocked. Boy, did _he _ever have a mouth! I flicked the top of his ear, like I do with Susie whenever she pisses me off.

"_Ow_! What was that for?" He rubbed his ear.

"Rule number one in high school: freshmen or visiting midgets are at the _very_ bottom of the food chain, and thus have no authority to speak to juniors that way," I told him calmly with a purpose.

"Too bad you have the brain of an elementary student," he said in a mumbled voice. I sighed and flicked him again, returning in another "Ow!"

"Rule number two: when a fish (lower classmen in school) further insults higher authority, they are allowed to be pushed down the stairs without any witnesses to complain about it." With all my power fizzling through me, the greatest ability was always present with me: my witchy BS. Seriously, I was making this up as I talked. It was working, though. He ceased with the unnecessary talking and what not, but I think it also might be because he saw my wicked irises. I continued on walking, but from the corner of my eye, I could have sworn I saw him talking into his wristwatch. Kids these days, you know?

* * *

English, again, was another unsavory class. For, as you all know, Mrs. Guthrie is a demon in disguise, and we're still going through our poem lessons! Fun, fun, FUN! Oh, and I had to come up with a poem reflecting emotion to present to the class, so I summoned my skills and put this together sometime last week.

"My poem reflects the horrid plague that broke out in London:

_Fire burning oh so frightening_

_Give me thunder, give me lightning!_

_Ashes swarm in the wispy breeze_

_And washes 'round the creature that flees._

Death and mourning take place all around

_And leaves the children far from sound._

_The scars scream their-_"

"Aradia, I think that's quite enough," Mrs. Guthrie interrupted me. I smiled innocently.

"But I have a whole page written," I pleaded. She looked at me with her hungry, vicious glare again, and I had no choice. I walked over and handed in my paper. The class snickered. The old bag of bones was the only one who was deeply disturbed by my totally _awesome_ poem. Eh, win some, lose some. Francis, who was seated next to my seat in the back looked somewhat shocked. I smirked a bit: serves him right.

I sat back down and took out my doodling notebook. Francis leaned in and whispered to me.

"You are a very disturbing individual, do you know that?" All right, _that_ does it. I don't care _what_ the hell my mom has to say later on! I projected my anger in a controlled path: straight to Francis.

He hunched over, clutching his stomach. His face turned pale almost immediately. Then, he let it blow. I stood up and backed away to avoid the puke.

"Mrs. Guthrie! Sick kid over here!" I raised my voice. Heads turned to the back, including Mrs. Guthrie's, whose eyes widened.

"You, go get the nurse. _Now!_" she told the nearest student urgently, who bolted out of the room. I hid the pleasure from my face with a look of disgust, which really wasn't all that hard. I put the garbage can right next to him. He started to slow down the GPPM (gallons of puke per minute) and was now gasping from the effort.

I know what you're thinking, and I'm _not_ a bad person! Honest! The kid's a jerk, but he's…something else too. His aura _stinks_ of hidden secrets and agendas. He looked up at me and narrowed his slightly bloodshot eyes, and I narrowed mine in return and let them twinkle and show their witchiness.

All of fifteen minutes later, and Francis had gone to the nurse's office and then was waiting for his father, Mr. McCreepy Pants to pick him up. I had gone with him to escort him to the nurse's office. As I walked back to class, I heard him say, "Caught you." I glared at him and turned my head.

Well now…how _am_ I going to explain what happened today in school to my mom without sounding like the devil?

Eh, I'll wing it like I always do.

* * *

**I know I didn't have Francis in for long, but it _does_ add to the suspense. **

**Why was he _really_ there?**

**What does he mean by 'caught you?'**

**Tune in next time for...**

**_A witchy way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* * *

_  
**


	13. The end of a 3chaptered day

**Hey! Sorry to leave you hanging last chapter!I was so excited about what I wrote, ideas popped up and there was this, that, and other things...and then I lost it.**

**Don't worry, I regained it, but it's going to be long term ideas, so by the time I'm done with this story, we'll all be old and gray.**

**But, hopefully, we'll not have lost interest in TSS by then.  
**

* * *

Back in English class, I was moved to a different seat while the former stomach contents were still being disposed of.

Whoopee _freaking_ do! At least the kid's gone. Did I mention I wasn't fond of him? At all?

While I listened to the rest of the class drone on and on reading their poems, I leaned back in my chair, my thoughts drifting elsewhere. _Gah_! I rhymed! I hope _that_ won't become a habit. I noticed that the person who was presenting currently in front of the class had a belt on tightly. Hmmm…do I dare? Nah, too cliché. I really need to get some new, fresh original ideas.

And like I said, I'm not the devil, I'm not a bully, I'm just really, really, bored as hell. I kid you not: high school can be a drag.

I know that isn't what I said earlier on, but I can over exaggerate on _some_ things. What I meant to say is that some of the classes and the teachers can be a total drag. The school itself, with the library, different clubs, computer labs, and good lunch food: _that_ stuff hits the spot.

Some students, unfortunately, certainly lack brains and common sense. This one girl in my class asked me what the hell poverty meant, and I think I flipped out. This girl was _asking me_ what _poverty meant?!_ She was also the same kid who had to use her calculator to figure out what 100 divided by 4 was. She's not mentally retarded or ahs any mental disease, she just never paid any attention to anything that wasn't her phone or boyfriend. All of that, and she's a brunette. Her name's Brudine, which _I_ though was pretty damn funny! _Brudine_ means 'Bright maiden,' but _believe me_: she's anything but bright.

I know a lot of weird things. Name meanings are truly interesting to study.

* * *

**A note from yours truly:**

**Aradia's right: Name meanings are cool (_check out the name meanings to my character names!)  
_**

* * *

I might have fallen asleep in there, I think, because before I knew it, the bell rang! I packed my stuff and headed out. On to health, then. Art class is _the_ best class there is, if you ask me, which you didn't, of course, but you have no choice but to listen. But…no. Instead, _I_ get to learn about VD, HIV, and all those other nasty things. Why I didn't take it freshman year to get it out of the way is _beyond_ me.

"Wait a minute, Miss Aradia, I want o speak with you for a moment," came Mrs. Guthrie's voice. Come on! I better get a hall pass for this! I turned around back into the threshold. All the other students had cleared out, and there wasn't any class coming in next hour.

"Aradia, that young man that next to you, the one who was shadowing you, how did he get sick?" She looked at me with those beady eyes again, and I think the room dropped a couple of degrees, 'cuse I'm shivering. I shrugged and put on my best act.

"I honestly don't know. To begin with, he _was_ a little pale, but he clutched his stomach and, well, heaved ho," I told her innocently, "It might just have been lack of vitamin D, or something like that." Mrs. Guthrie pondered.

"Yes…I suppose so…you can go, now, thank you," she ordered and ushered me out. What a _nice_ woman!

_That_, ladies and gentlemen, was sarcasm, so don't think I actually meant it. Like they say, 'Sarcasm: one of my many talents.' I bet I have way more talents than the dude who came up with that saying. _Lots_ more. I heard my name and swung my head around.

Only to collide straight into Susie. Ow.

"Passing period's still got a minute left, ya know," I told her, "so, you don't rush too much." She looked at me with confusion and then went in a circle around me.

"Where's rude little midget man? I still got my whiffle bat in my locker, and I owe him a couple whacks!" She looked at my face and slowly smiled.

"Shit. What'd you do now?" She laughed.

"Poor, _dear_ little Francis all of a sudden just threw up in the middle of English class! Why, he was sent down to the office and had to be picked up by his father to be taken home. What. A. Freaking. Pity," I told her in my fake concern voice, which she knew all too well.

"Someone's gonna get a certain something _bound_ if a certain someone else finds out about this…" she trailed off.

We both laughed again.

"_Yeah_, she said that on Saturday, too, but I'm still here with all that certain something still!" I giggled. Yes, _giggled_. I'm still a girly girl if I want to be.

* * *

"You want a ride?" I asked Susie when school let out.

"Why doth thee even asketh?" she responded with a thick false British accent.

"I donno, but you make a lousy Shakespeare."

* * *

So, I drove home, dropped Susie off, and then went to my room to finish up my homework. This time, I couldn't finish everything in study hall. This is going to take only an hour or so, and then I get my free time. I was hoping to try a new spell that I learned. This one I learned from my mom, and tonight she's going to help me. Why she wants to do it at night? Beats me.

On with homework, and then on with Wiccan Madness!

Oh, it's gonna be good to just use my magic without restraint or restrictions! I wrote the date and stuff on my paper, but then my pencil broke. Huh. Didn't realize I was pressing that hard. And my pencil sharpener was in my backpack, halfway across the room. I looked straight at it and though,

_Light as air, free as a bird_. The sharpener floated through the air and landed in my outstretched palm.

It's good to be a witch!

* * *

**Heyo! Well, another chapter done, and I gotta go for the night.**

**Tali ho! **

**

* * *

**

**Favorite quote of the day:**

_**"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere."**_

**Groucho Marx, an awesome man.  
**


	14. How to get magically high off of life

**Hi people of all ages! I'm baaa-aack! Sorry it took a little longer than normal to get the next chapter up! I had a bunch of school crap going on, so I apologize to everybody for that**.

**_Curse you, monthly Biology article review!_**

**Oh, and I don't own Secret Saturdays, nor Sweep series, from which I was inspired to write this story of mine.  
**

**On with our little tale...**

* * *

_Dinner time:_

Oh. My. Goddess!

My mom made lobster for once! It is sooooooooooo good!

"What's the occasion?" I asked, my mouth still full of meat. My mom glared at me, mentally telling me to not talk with food in my mouth.

"You're going to need the energy for what we're doing tonight," she replied smiling. I can't wait for tonight's spell practice. According to my mom, it's something big we're going to do. _What_, I don't know.

"So, what else happened in school, today?" my dad spoke up.

"Weeeell…a kid shadowed me for less than one class before he got sick. He was a little ball of complete rudeness! And- Mom, _please_ let me finish!- his aura smelled of something rotten," I said in one breath. My mom arched her eyebrows and began her thing.

"Aradia Rhiannon Allen, what did you do?" she warned using my full name. Not good.

"I didn't do _anything_! The kid got sick and went home!" I replied in a pissed-off tone. My parents looked at me with their weird parent-like glare. It's so _creepy_! I sighed.

"Okay, I…directed my anger. Just by a little! Mom, you _told_ me to go by instincts! Like I said his aura was just so reeked!" My mom now looked a little concerned.

"How did you first got stuck with him?" she asked.

"I was called down to the office and was told that this kid was going to trail me around for the day. The thing is, he's not an eighth grader, and he looks younger, like around Zak's age. For a kid, he sure was creepy."

"Wait…why were _you_ selected to take him around and not someone else? Why not a freshman?" she asked, her worry growing.

"Guy's dad said he was going to be placed in higher classes, about the same as mine. It's weird," I replied, sudden realization creeping into my mind, "Something _is_ screwy here."

"What was his name?" my dad asked.

"…Francis. Yeah, Francis, and his dad's was…Epsilon?" I said, searching the back of my mind for answers, "Mean anything to you?"

My parents shock their heads. My mom was definitely concerned now.

"We'll look into it later. But right now, lets just enjoy our meal, shall we?" my mom: the joykiller, the talker, the leader, and the sometimes optimist.

* * *

After we cleaned up dinner, watched the nightly news, and got settled around seven o'clock, we changed clothes. We dressed in loose, thin clothing. Then my mom took me outside. I looked up at the stars: the moon was full tonight. To my surprise, we went to the garage.

"Where're we going?" I asked my mom, my anticipation rocketing through the roof.

"We need to do this spell somewhere where we won't get noticed," she said, "what I'm going to show you is _very_ powerful. You can't take this too lightly, or it can get dangerous."

"Aren't you going to tell me _what_ it is?" I questioned her, "All I know is that it's big, powerful, requires absolute control, and now it's _dangerous_? What're going to show me?"

"When we get to the woods, I can _teach_ you, right now, I think I'm enjoying this too much!" she smiled. You know, I'm still waiting to get grounded here, and my mom's going to show me how to do something so _big_, she's not even going to talk about it till we get there! Life sucks sometimes, you know?

After a fifteen-minute drive, we arrived at the local forest. We got out of the car, and started walking into it. Thankfully, due to mage sight, we don't need flashlights. We came to a clearing and stopped. My mom turned to me.

"Now, we meditate." We sat down and got into the 'full lotus,' as my mom called it. Deep, slow breathes. Calm…I am calm, peaceful…tranquil.

It's so nice and quiet here, except for the owls hooting and, of course, the crickets chirping like hell. It's extremely easy to relax and go into meditative mode. Not to be to cliché, or anything, but it actually _does_ relax your nerves. Mediation, that is. A witch can't ever lose control over their magic. When I was younger, _that_ was a different story. As you get older, your magic grows much stronger and flows more easily. I did this for half an hour, it was so nice.

My mom tapped me on the shoulder, shaking me back to the present.

"Aradia, we are going to shape shifting tonight," she aid in a calmed voice. My eyes widened. Wow…shape shifting? This _is_ a biggy.

"Mom, are you sure?" I asked tentatively, "I mean, it hurts, doesn't it?"

She nodded.

"I learned it when I was about you age, so I think it's only fair that you learned it now. It will hurt changing back. That's why you need complete control. You need to control the animal instincts," she paused, "Now, what animal do you want to shift to? Pick something reasonable. You can only change into something you have a great affinity towards." I thought for a moment.

A hawk. They're hunters, graceful when flying, swooping down at their prey. They were always one of my favorite animals.

"A hawk. Is that okay?" I asked my mom. She smiled.

"Repeat after me: _Annial nath rac, aernan sil, loch mairn, loch hollen, sil beitha…_" I took a deep breath, and repeated the words. I looked up at my mom. Her features slowly sharpened, and changed. And I felt it.

I clutched my stomach. Oh, _Goddess_! My insides felt on fire! I didn't know it would hurt this much! My arms shrunk and my legs shortened. I…I really don't want to go into details, okay? I tried to yell out in pain, but all that came out was a bird-like screech! I looked down at myself: I was a hawk. My eyes were those beyond human-like. My beak (yes, I had a _beak!_) was sharp and my talons were those of a hunter. I shook off the garments I was entangled in.

I can see what my mom meant about the animal instinct. I wanted to fly free! I wanted to go into the open sky and hunt! I looked to my right, and there was another hawk. The animal in me wanted to chase it away. This is _my_ territory!

I screeched at it, but then Aradia in me came back. That's my mom! I tilted my head.

_How do you feel?_ A witch message! Wait, I can still communicate in this form?

_Mom?_ I sent to the other hawk. I got a short screech in return and what looked like a nod of the head.

_It's…confusing! All I want to do is fly right now!_

_That's natural. It's the hawk in you wanting to resort to its wild instincts. Don't fight it so much._ And she took off into the night.

* * *

We flew for what seemed hours! It was beautiful in every way possible! _This_ is true magic at work! If my human mind had much room to think, it would have said, 'I can see my house from here!'

_Aradia! We need to land now! _ It took all my concentration to contemplate what was said. I saw the other hawk up ahead. I raced towards it and followed it. It raced back to the forest clearing, where we first took off, and landed.

_Think about changing back! We're done for the night!_ I don't want to! I want to be like this forever! I…I…

The animal in me was disappearing. I collapsed to the ground, a pile of writhering feathers and claws. It was so painful! I screeched into the night, somehow hoping that it would lessen the spike-like pain. It didn't.

My eyesight weakened and dulled and I cried out again when I could feel my bones growing and snapping into the right direction. The feathers disappeared and my short black hair grew back on my head. After about three painful minutes, I was me again. I was naked and exhausted. I looked around, and saw my simple, loose clothing I had shed after shifting and clumsily put it back on.

My mom was in her clothing as well. I limped over to her and hugged her.

"Thank you, mom!" I rasply said, and she helped me to the car. We went back home, and I immediately washed up and hit my bed, just wanting to fall asleep till noon the next day.

* * *

**So, good? Bad? Reeeeeeeeally bad? Lend me thy thoughts and words!**

** Tell me what thou thinkest of this humble little story of mine!**

**(Sorry, I'm reading _Hamlet_ in English, and I couldn't resist!)  
**

* * *

**Favorite quote(s) of the day:**

**[while standing at the entrance to the Triple Rock church watching the service with much dancing and Hallelujah choruses, a heavenly light shines down on Jake and he has an epiphany]  
****Jake**: The band? The band.  
**Reverend Cleophus James**: DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT?  
**Jake**: THE BAND!  
**Reverend Cleophus James**: DO YOU SEE THE LIGHT?  
**Elwood**: What light?  
**Reverend Cleophus James**: HAVE YOU SEEEEN THE LIGHT?  
**Jake**: YES! YES! JESUS H. TAP-DANCING CHRIST... I HAVE SEEN THE LIGHT!

**1980 Blues Brothers movie (totally check it out!)  
**


	15. You don't like me when I'm ticked off

**Hello! Ready for the next chapter now, are we?**

**A quick note: I didn't _steal_ or _copy_ the shape-shifting idea last chapter from _anybody_! Okay? In the Sweep series, it's one of the spells performed, and I thought it would be cool in my story. Okay?**

**Cool.**

**Well, then, on with it, already!  
**

* * *

After Monday night, I had a new respect for my parents, especially for my mom. _Any_one who shows you something like shape-shifting can be considered Goddess-like, really. I looked it up in my Wiccan books and just sat there, wide-eyed. Shape-shifting, according to the council, is considered _dark magic_? Weird, how the hell is it dark? It also said that only extremely powerful witches could perform it. _That_ fed my ego.

The rest of the week consisted of school, homework, then, late at night if I finished my work, another new spell. Nothing as intense as Monday night, of course, but still neat nonetheless. Except on Thursday because (_groan_!) my mom had a meeting with the Band of Bozos. _Shit!_

"Beeman really sucks at telling you in advance, you know?" I asked my mom as she was getting ready, and immediately regretted it.

"_Language._ While I agree with you completely, I'm going whether you like it or not," she said as she brushed her hair, "Oh, and apparently the Saturday family-you remember them, right?- said that since Zak wasn't coming with, guess what?" she added.

"Along with Fisk and Komodo? Seriously? _Goddess!_" I groaned, "Are they coming _here_?" A nod of the head was all it took to send me to my room scowling. I closed my door and pulled out my altar and a candle. I meditated quietly, forcing myself to calm down. As always, my muscles loosened and relaxed. I cast my senses and saw in the far distance a flying shape. A-what'd ya know?- giant airship.

The last thing I wanted to do was baby-sit…what did he call it?…Oh, yeah. Kur. I'm surprised my mom hasn't asked me about his aura yet. Well, now that I've thought about it, according to Murphy's Law, she's going to ask me soon. After fifteen minutes of meditating with mental blocks on my room, I heard something. I woke up from my relaxed state a tad pissed, you could say. I heard another noise, a slight creaking of the hallway floor.

"Hello?" I called out. It wasn't my mom or dad. I cast my senses and rolled my eyes.

"Okay, I admit, I didn't even hear you come in."

Silence.

"I _know_ it's you, Zak. Don't make me come out there," I stated flatly. The door opened to reveal a small-than-me twelve-year-old boy with black and white hair. Behind him? Sasquach Man and Large Lizard.

"How'd you know it was me?" he asked. I just stared at him in a bored manner.

"Ooooooh…right. Witch stuff. Yeah, I knew that."

"He better be housebroken," I told Zak, pointing to Komodo, who hissed at me in return. Zak looked around my room and eyed the small altar that I used for one-personed circles.

"Do I even want to know what that is?" he asked. I followed his gaze to my altar.

"It's ex_actly_ what it looks like," I replied. I walked out of the room implying Zak and his "siblings" to do the same.

"So, now what?" I asked. Fiskerton started talking. About what, I don't know.

"Can you do that thing with the candle again?" Zak asked with noted excitement.

"Depends. What do you plan on scrying for?" I returned, "Because if you're planning on spying on the scientists, I'd need to know where they're at. Though, I think my mom might block it this time."

Zak looked a little disappointed and sat down in the living room. Life just suddenly got a whole lot boring. I really just wanted to go back to meditating. But, _noooooooooo_. Fate saw it fit to leave me with a mischievous little boy to watch for the night. _Again_.

"So…anything interesting happen in your life recently?" I asked lazily. Zak shook his head.

"No. Just the usual. Mom's trying to research Kur stuff, Dad's looking at the cryptid patterns, and I'm just me," he said smiling, "Anything life changing happen to _you_?" I remembered something in school that occurred earlier in the week. Probably not worth mentioning to him, though.

"Had an annoying kid follow me around school for a brief amount of time before I directed my anger and made 'em spout vomit like a fountain. Real weird kid." Zak started laughing.

"You can really do that?" he asked. I nodded.

"You have _got_ to show me what else you can do!" I opened my palm and sparks of light shot up to the ceiling. I directed them with my finger and they circled around Komodo, who tried eating them. Zak's mouth hung open in utter awe. In a mere thought, the light turned into a long, white fabric and entangled Komodo. _This_ time, Komodo ate the fabric and a satisfying gulp and belched.

I started laughing at the sight, and Zak joined in.

Then, I felt something. I motioned for Zak to be silent with a finger to my lips.

"There's someone outside," I whispered. His eyes widened. I cast my senses.

There were three,_ four _people outside the house walking swiftly and quietly. Well, not quiet enough to remain hidden from _me_. They were holding bags full of something. Then they pulled it out of the bags and-wait. _What_ are they doing?

"Hoooly_ Fucking_ Goddess! They're frickin' teepeeing the house!" I yelled. I think Zak flinched from my use of language, but I really don't care right now. I stormed out of my front door, wit at the ready. The figures stopped in their tracks when they saw me.

"_Take care of her_!" one of them hissed. A figure came at me fist ready. I took it as it was coming, twisted it, breaking the wrist in the process. After a howl of pain, he went on his knees, clutching his hand.

"_Come_ on, you _assholes_! Who wants a piece of me?" I yelled at them. Another guy came at me, and I grabbed him by the arm and flipped him completely over. The other two left threw the toilet paper and started to take off down the driveway to a car parked across the street.

"_Hey!_ You forgot to formally _introduce_ yourselves!" They started up the car, but _I_ ran the show here. The motor war stuck, or something (Ain't I a stinka?). I strode down to the car and opened the unlocked doors and grabbed the driver by the collar and yanked him out.

"Who are you?!" I took a good look at him and gasped.

"_Let go of me!"_ replied the whiny voice of Todd Pecker. I threw him to the ground. Then I squatted down to his level.

"Pick up the trash, and _scram!_" I whispered to him, and he went over, helped his friends and took off like a bullet.

I dusted off my hands and turned around towards the house.

To find Zak at the front door way with his jaw opened like an idiot and his weird claw thing in his hand.

"How-"

"I'm not _like_ other girls, okay?" I hastily replied closing the door behind me.

"Who _was_ that?" he asked. I sighed.

"A guy who I _really_ don't like."

* * *

**And thus another ending for another chapter.**


	16. The dull maybe truth

**Hellooooooooooooo nurse!**

**Sorry, wrong show.**

**Now, where were we?**

**Oh, yeah...  
**

* * *

I told Zak about Todd, and he _finally_ told me about his claw thing. What parent in their right mind would give their kid something as dangerous as _that_?

Anyway, he and Fisk helped me pick up the toilet paper that the jocks managed to throw in the short amount of time before I busted their asses. My dad, as it turns out, was in the basement working in his office and didn't even know what happened until I came down and told him. He, in turn, called up the Peckers and informed them of what their wonderful son was doing. All I know is that if I ever see Todd again, I would break all of his bones (only if there aren't any nearby witnesses).

"So…where'd you learn to fight like that?" Zak asked me as we headed back inside.

"Sixth grade, a guy was bullying me. Told my dad, and he showed me how to make a fist. Next day, the guy comes up to me, I broke his nose. Afterwords, I learned some martial arts and that's that." I didn't mention that I got two weeks of detention after my first fight, though.

"Sweet…" he replied, "So, what exactly did that kid do to you that you made him puke like crazy?"

"He pissed me off by insulting my best friend," I told him, "so then, he was sent down to the office to be picked up by his oddly stiff dad. I don't think I'll be hearing from…uh, _Francis_ any time soon." I didn't hear any reply so I turned my head. Zak face was twisted with surprise and shock. Well, either that or he's silently enduring a mega-wedgie.

"…_Francis_? Wait, what did he look like?" he rushed. Fisk was whining and Komodo was hissing. I think I said the magic word, or something.

"Um, sorta light greenish hair, a darker green suit, round glasses, and pale skin. No displayed emotion. Ever," I recalled, "And his dad had a similar suit and glasses, and a low, buzz cut hairdo." Zak now looked utterly confused.

"I take it you know these guys?" I asked.

"Yeah, and not in a good way," he replied. So, for the next twenty minutes or so, I was informed with much detail about Zak's interesting adventures that included McCreepy Pants Senior and Junior.

"So they got a file on _every_one? That's…kinda stalkish. Well, this is fairly good news," I ended cheerfully.

"How the _heck_ is that good news?" Zak wondered aloud.

"Next time I see them, I won't be terribly sorry if I kick his ass again," I said smiling. I figured: if I'm not the only person who doesn't like Francis, then no one will be heartbroken if he gets what he deserves.

"Um, no offense, but why do you swear a lot?" Zak asked. I rolled my eyes. I'd almost forgotten how annoying he was.

"Part of growing up and going to high school: I myself picked it up at Central High. I mean, first day there I couldn't _believe_ how often I heard swear words. Especially in Spanish class when there's a substitute teacher." I tried not to laugh at the memory. Marlin, a very mouthy guy (another guy I wouldn't mind strangling) in the class, was saying the F word in every sentence when talking to poor Mr. Coy, the substitute for the day.

"I, for one, am _completely_ glad I was home schooled by my parents," Zak stated proudly.

"Well, _good_ for you," I replied.

"Back to Francis: why would he even _be_ at your school? Shadowing _you_?" he asked, "my mom and dad don't even see him at any of the Secret Scientists' meetings."

"Don't think so hard, you'll hurt yourself," I warned him with fake sympathy. He rolled his eyes at me. "But you make a good point." I went back to my room and pulled out my specialty: a tall, think, soy candle.

"Let's scry something up, shall we?"

* * *

We held hands once more, and I lit the candle with my mind. And made Zak jump. _Again_.

"Seriously: _How_ do you do that?" he asked with a little annoyance in his tone.

"Hey, don't make me put the candle away!" I threatened. I closed my eyes in concentration, because I'm trying to find something that isn't trying to be found. I really hope they don't have some kind of magical expert in their midst, or something. I sent my thoughts to the flame, feeding it in the process.

_Francis,_ I thought, _Find Francis and his father. What are they doing? What do they want?_

I waited.

Then, an image started to come into view. I stared at it intensely.

_File name: Aradia Allen_ popped up. It was a file on me. It had my latest school photo id and basic information on me. Something was typed, and more was added.

_Abilities: of the supernatural category. Claims to be of Wiccan blood witch descent. Very powerful with a bad attitude. Potential future threat, but hopefully will mature with age. Mother, Elena Allen, ally of Secret Scientists._

"_Bad attitude_? Well, yeah, I do _now_!" I raised my voice.

"So, they just updated your file?" Zak asked.

"No, they did this a little while ago. This is a little bit in the past. And-_AH!_" I momentarily stopped clutching my head.

"What is it?" Zak questioned, jumping up and ready for something to happen.

"Someone there had _I can't smile without you_ stuck in their head, and now I can't get it out _my_ head!" I rubbed my forehead, trying to get the deadly melody out. Zak rolled his eyes at me.

"Hey, _you're_ not the one with crappy music imprinted in their brain!" I slowly turned back to the flame, searching for more information. I pushed. Hard.

"There's nothing else I can find," I said in defeat, "Either that's all they _want _us to see, or that's all there is _to_ see."

"What? The file or the song?" Zak asked. Little smart aleck.

"Ha ha. Very funny. It is. To laugh," I replied, quoting Daffy, "So, who wants some tea?"

Zak and Fisk both backed away by a couple inches.

* * *

**Yes, Francis and Epsilon just wanted to update their stupid files and stuff. Like Aradia said, stalkish much?**

**And, no. I don't like _I can't smile without you_ and I had to make it known.**

**I also can't stand Sarah Palin, but go into politics and I'll repeat my quote from Robin Williams.**

**Ciao! **

**

* * *

**

**Favorite quote(s) of the day:**

**The Godfather**: I am Don Pepperoni, the Godfather.  
**Dot**: Can we call you "Dad-Doo"?

**Animaniacs!**


	17. Back to my wonderful life!

**Hi again! I'm reallllllllllllllllllllllly sorry that it took a week for the next chapter! I just had a lot of school crap, stuff with my _wonderful _braces** (**I hate getting the rubber bands!) Anyway, I also had writer's block, so I'm going to read some other things and wait for an epiphany.**

**Sound good?**

**Thought so.**

**Welp, on with it, then.  
**

* * *

The rest of the night consisted of a few board games, TV surfing, and video gaming. Zak was surprised to see that I had Wii system and told me so. Ironically, I had Harry Potter.

"What? I'm allowed to have fun, too, you know," I told him. Public school would do this kid good. I mean, his best friends aren't even _human_? Not to insult Fisk or Komodo (okay, maybe Komodo a little) but he needs _human_ friends his age.

While we were in the middle of spell casting with the Wii sticks, I paused the game and walked over to the phone.

"What'd you do that for?" Zak asked.

"My friend Susie," I replied. Two seconds later, the phone rang and I picked up before it finished the first ring.

"Yello, Pizza Delivery. Can I help you," I asked into the phone.

"Hmmm…I don't know. Maybe you can tell me _why my best bud ain't answering her cell!_" I pulled the phone away from my ears to avoid hearing damage.

"What are you talking about? My cell's on me and I haven't gotten a single call," I responded. I took out my cell phone from my pocket and flipped it open. Only to find out that I'd turned it off earlier. Oh.  
"Scratch that. I had my phone _on_ me, but I turned it off. I'm sorry!" We talked for a couple of minutes, but then I had to get off due to Komodo trying to eat my mom's plants. I told Susie I gotta go, and then I used an immobile charm to save me a month of grounding.

"Not! For! Eating!" Zak bit his lip.

"Sorry about that," he sheepishly told me.

"You got a leash for that thing," I asked pointing at Komodo, who, again, hissed at me in return. I gave him a stick eye.

* * *

About half and hour later, my mom came back, Zak and his 'siblings' left, and I went back to my room to meditate. Until my mom came in.

"Aradia, why does my purple violet have several leaves mangled?" Uh oh.

"Was _not_ my fault!"

* * *

_Friday_

So, Todd apparently got in _major_ trouble for his stupid little stunt, and his friends had the bruises and casts to show for it. Remember that guy whose wrist I broke? He's some dude who played with Todd on the football team. Well, now he's off for the entire season due to detention and the fact that it's really hard to play with a broken wrist in a cast. The other guy who I flipped's okay, but still in a heap of trouble. I've gotten a lot of glares and colorful notes left in my locker from the rest of the football team and cheerleaders.

Eh, nothing I can't handle. I met up with Susie in the hallway and filled her in. I'm surprised she didn't scream in delight, but she looked close to it.

"I was wondering why your name was on the Burn List. It's quite an honor for you. _Again_," she laughed. Let me explain: the Burn List is a list of names in the girl's bathroom that are put there if they're declared 'loser of the week,' by the popular crowd. I've had the pleasure of being on this list several times. Thus the incoming of glares from the hallway, trying to trip me in class, and the tampons in the locker.

"I think I'm officially the most hated girl in school. I'm probably gonna have to spell my locker, aren't I?" I glanced at Susie.

"Well, it _sure_ did the trick last time. Remember with the cheerleaders and the big _boom_? The teachers had to search the entire locker to try to find any explosives!" she laughed, trying to catch her breath. Yeah…another misspell I'd rather not talk about.

So…another day, basically. English, health, history…yeah, you know the drill already. I was getting ready to go to lunch when I heard my name over the intercom.

"_Aradia Allen, please report to the front office. Aradia Allen, please report to the front office. Thank you."_

Now what? If I find another Francis or _Todd_, I'm going to toss them out through the nearest window. And don't think I'm bluffing. I walked to the office as slowly as I could, stopping at the water fountain, talking to an awesome teacher who teaches art class, and making a pit stop to magically erase my scratched-in name off the Burn List. When I finally got there, I found my mom waiting. Um, what'd I do now?

"Uh, Mom?" I asked. She looked a little pissed.

"10:45 orthodontist? Mean anything to you?" my mom replied, "I tried calling you on your cellphone when I got a call from Dr. Meir saying you weren't there, but you forgot to turn it on again."

I slapped my forehead. _Goddess!_ I had _completely _forgotten!

"Come on, we're going right now," my mom said walking out of the office.

"Um, _why_ again am I going?" I asked tentatively, not ever liking the dentist.

"Your braces."

_Noooooooooooooooooo!

* * *

_

**Let me tell you: braces suck.**

**They suck, they stink, I hate em, but, what can I do, you know?**

**Please review! I know it wasn't the most spectacular tale of your lives, or anything, but it lets me know that some peole actually_ like_ my garbage.**

**Thank you!

* * *

**

**Favorite quote of the day:**

_**Jim**: **"**Well, it got so that every piss-ant prairie punk who thought he could shoot a gun would ride into town to try out the Waco Kid. I must have killed more men than Cecil B. DeMille. It got pretty gritty. I started to hear the word "draw" in my sleep. Then one day, I was just walking down the street when I heard a voice behind me say, "Reach for it, mister!" I spun around... and there I was, face-to-face with a six-year old kid. Well, I just threw my guns down and walked away... Little bastard shot me in the ass. So I limped to the nearest saloon, crawled inside a whiskey bottle, and I've been there ever since.**"**_

**Blazing Saddles! A Mel Brooks movie!**

**(I highly recommend it to all!)  
**


	18. Eh, let's just call it chapter 18, 'kay?

**Hello everybody! I'm sooooooooooooooo sorry it took me this long to put up this short, new chapter! I just didn't know what to write about, I was so stumped! Don't worry, though. I already have the layout for my next chapter! So, hopefully, it'll be up before you know it!**

**So, please, continue on.**

**With the story, I mean.**

**But still continue on with life while you're at it.  
**

* * *

I had _completely_ forgotten about getting my braces, with all the wonderful, new _shit_ in my life! Oh, _Goddess!_ I probably sound like such a baby, but…

I have severe dentophobia, okay? I'm not kidding. (Tell a single soul and I will find out where you live and go to your house at night while you're asleep and kill you slowly and very painfully)

Once when I was younger, I had to get a baby tooth pulled. I went into some bland dentist office and sat on a seat. A nurse put some numbing stuff on my gums, a weird jelly-like goop. Then…I saw this foot-long _gigantic_ shot come out of nowhere!

It! Hurt! Like! All! Living! _Hell!_

We stopped going to that dentist after I bit his finger hard enough to make him bleed, and he threatened to sue us. Mom was _none_ too happy about that, let me tell you.

The thing I hate about it is that for some weird reason, my magic won't work on my teeth! I can't use any kind of spell or charm to, you know, bring me good luck for a cavity-free year, or something like that.

D'ya see why I have reason to be concerned? Or at least a little edgy?

"Aradia, stop acting like such a _child_! I've been telling you about this for _months_, so it's not like it's a huge surprise for you," my mom chastised me as she drove.

"You think I actually pay _attention_?" I mumbled, hopefully too quiet for her to hear. I _hate _it when my mom's actually right! It really pops your balloon, you know? I probably sound like I'm just spouting off a bunch of metaphorical crap, don't I? Well, that's just me.

So, we drove for fifteen minutes top and then entered the threshold of my ultimate doom and torture (at least Dick Chaney isn't here, cause then I'd _really_ be in for it!).

* * *

_**A couple hours later...**_

I only have five words for anyone who would lend me their ears: Thank the Goddess for Advil. I'm not a pill popper of anything. I'm just not a big fan of Painsville. I mean, is anyone?

Anyway, I now had braces on my upper teeth, and it hurt like all living hell. No surprise there. And, after a couple of months, I'm going to get my bottom braces, too. Yay me. After all this, and my mom drives me back to school?! Well, like Monty Python says, "Life's a piece of shit." Now, who can argue with that?

* * *

I entered my last class of the day: study hall. Ah, the beauty of it! Nice and quiet with a touch of peacefulness. Well, if you don't count the distinct occasional snoring (until I get annoyed, and they suddenly wake up after their arm that was propping up their head just happened to slip and their head hits the desk with a satisfying _thunk!_). Seriously, you can get away with murder in here and no one will ever notice. And the best part: it's in the computer lab, so I have total access to the Internet. I didn't even have to worry about those stupid school blocks to certain websites thanks to a certain magical energy flow.

I Googled Weird World again, just for the heck of it. When I clicked GO, I couldn't believe it: this guy's got a _lot_ of hits. I clicked a few.

Looking at this guy's work and stuff, I never would have guessed that he was a murderer who _also_ tried to kill an eleven year old. Several times.

Next, again for the heck of it, I Googled the Saturdays. Nothing. Huh. Figured there wouldn't be anything anyway. What country are they from, anyways?

_Ding._

A short, dinging noise sounded off of my computer, and heads glanced my way because of it. The teacher, Mrs. Zeki, glared at me icily. I sheepishly smiled innocently and mouthed, "sorry," and she looked away.

I silently swore and looked at what made that noise, but first plugged in my headphones and put them on. I noticed a new IM browser at the bottom and pulled it up.

Oh. My. Goddess. You have _got _to be kidding me. It was none other than _Zsat9308_. Whoopee _frickin_ do.

_Zsat9308: __Hey!_

That's it? Just, '_Hey'_? I will _kill_ that child.

_WiccanQueen31__: Okay, HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW MY SCHOOL COMPUTER USER?!? Cause I don't know if _you_ know or care, but…I'm still in class!_

I didn't mention that I was currently in study hall, but that's not something he has to know.

_Zsat9308:__Um…I was bored?_

I focused my bad mood into the computer all the way to the receiving end. I waited a couple of seconds before replying.

_WiccanQueen31__: Still bored?_

_Zsat9308:__ Why did my hair just stand on end like it was shocked?_

_WiccanQueen31__: Oh, deal with it, you big baby!_

Gotta love modern technology, you know?

* * *

So, I was back at home after school, talking over the phone to Susie about what we're going to do over the weekend.

"Well, as long as my mom isn't meeting up with the Band of Bozos, and our monthly neighborhood coven circle isn't till _next_ week, wanna sleep over at my place?" I asked her.

"A _sleepover_? Damn, I haven't been to one is _soooooooo_ long…oh, what the hell, sure!"

I haven't had one in ages, so basically what Susie said, 'what the hell.' I mean, watch a movie (or movies), eat popcorn till you puke, talk all night, and finally fall asleep at 5 in the morning. Can you think of anything better?

Ah, _shit!_ I _can't _have popcorn anymore thanks to my new _wonderful_ addition to my teeth! And no more gum!

I talked with Susie a little bit more, and then hung up. I paced around my room thinking. I _need_ some excitement! I have too much energy, but not enough for a one-personed circle.

You know what? I'll take a jog! I haven't had one those in ages, either. I put on my gym shoes and grabbed my cell phone and jammed it into my pocket.

"Hey, mom? I'm taking a walk! Be back in a bit!" I yelled to the kitchen before dashing out the door.

* * *

**So, that's my new chapter. I promise there'll be more stuff to read in the next chapter, 'kay? I only need to type it, and it'll be up!**

**If you have any ideas for upcoming chapters, I'm always _open_ to suggestions. **

**Please review and let me know what you think of it! It's really the reviews that keep me writing, not just the hits.

* * *

**

**Personal quote of the day:**

**_"I am, simply said, me. No hidden agendas, no secrets or anything, just... me. And if you don't like it, then you can kiss my ass."_**


	19. Never go to the park on a Friday

**Hey! I said the next chapter would soon be up, and here you are!**

**Thank you all for the reviews and hits! I haven't gotten that many lately, so I'm very thankful.**

**

* * *

Reminder: I don't own Secret Saturdays or their characters, nor do I own Sweep series, which I looked back at for the wonderful, long incantations.**

* * *

I took off down the sidewalk jogging. I decided that I'd go for a few blocks, down to that local kids' park, then turn around and make my way back. Simple, right?

I pray to the Goddess that it actually _is_ for a change. As I crossed the street, I waved to my neighbor.

"Hey, Mrs. Alden!" I called out to her. She was apparently lifting something, but turned around and waved back.

"Afternoon, Aradia!"

I walked over to her in her front yard.

"Need any help?" Mrs. Alden was the classic kind, elderly woman next-door who always looked like she needed help. She shook her head and replied no. I always admired her a bit. She's a strong woman, even after she was widowed. I talked to her for a minute or two, and then continued on with my jogging.

I reached the next block when I heard the honking. I twisted my head around, and there was this shiny, bright red convertible with, like, five guys in it waving at me. They looked around 18, or so, too old for my taste and what my dad would allow me. Anyway, they were waving and _whistling_ at me! I looked down at myself and blushed a bit: I probably should have switched to a sports bra before I left the house.

"Hey, baby! Does the Foxy Lady wanna go for a drive with us?" one of the guys shouted at me. I shot them the bird and sped up ahead of them. Sure enough, they followed in pursuit by quickly flooring it.

"Don't be that way, Doll! Jus' want a little ride!" another guy whined at me.

"Yeah, I'm _sure_ you do, Jackasses," I mumbled. Okay, _now_ they're definitely pissing me off. I rolled my eyes and muttered under my breath.

The car suddenly skidded off to the side when their front right tire unexpectedly went flat. Now, how _did_ that happen? (Now imagine me saying that in a sweet and innocent voice like the nice little girl, which I'm not.)

"Ah, _shit,_ man! That was my last spare! My pop'll _kill_ me if I gotta get this thing towed again!" The driver said, clutching his hair after he looked at his tire. I flashed a dazzling, full-of-braces smile and sped ahead again.

Did I mention I _luuuurved_ being a witch?

* * *

Finally, I reached the park. It was a nice place for an ignorant little kid. They had all sorts of cool things there: sandboxes, slides, ropes for climbing, monkey bars, tire swings, and a whole bunch of other crap that I don't know what the heck they're called. I _realllllllllly_ don't recommend going in the sandbox, though. I'm pretty sure the last time they got new sand was when_ I _was a kid. Thank the Goddess there aren't too many stray cats around here, or else it'd be even _worse_ (if that was even possible).

I saw an empty wooden bench and sat down. I'll admit, I was a bit winded. I am _so_ out of shape for long distances, and that's just sad. After taking a breather, I took a slurp from the water fountain that didn't have sand in it. At least it's actually cold for once.

"Well, well, this is certainly the last place anyone would check to find you, if they actually read your file, that is," a voice from behind me sounded. I spit the water out like a fountain after I recognized the voice.

"Oh, _fucking_ joy: It's mini agent man in his usual green trench coat," I said casually turning around, facing that which is Francis (does this guy even have a last name?).

"I'm as ecstatic as you are about this, but I have my orders," Francis coolly replied, "My people have their…interests in unusual things and people. An expert on Wicca informed them of what powerful witches are capable of, and they got an idea of recruitment stuck in their mind."

"What? I've somehow met their qualifications? Why, I'm so flattered, I'm _pissing _myself." He might have been a little taken back from my choice of words, but one simply cannot tell with his unchanging face, "Too bad regular, greedy _humans_ have such little magic in them, especially people like _you_, so hard bent on solid science, you never realize true power in Nature."

It's fun to press someone's buttons, but I think it'll take a while with this kid.

"Well, Zak was right about one thing, that's for sure," I stared at the kid boredly, "you really _are_ an annoying little twerp."

"And _you're_ an impulsive loudmouthed powerhouse who-" I interrupted him again.

"Better watch your words, kid, or you'll _wish _you'll only be puking," I widened my eyes for a second, and a heat wave surged over him, slightly singeing his eyebrows. I turned the other way and started my way back to my house. When I heard footsteps that matched my own, I quickened the pace.

I went into a circle of tall bushes and stopped for a sec, and there was definitely someone following me. Francis, most likely, or maybe one of his 'people,' whoever the hell they are. How do I lose them for now? I mentally flipped through my lists of spells.

A memory of flying freedom came to me almost immediately. But, do I _really_ want to do that? I shuddered at the memory of the excruciating pain. _No_. Not near a public place for everyone to hear my inhuman screams. And besides: what'll happen to my clothes? People tend to look at a hawk carrying a pair of gym shoes and a bra (and everything else, but those two things that'll _really_ freak them out.

A controlling charm! It takes a bit of chanting, but I'll settle for that for right now, hearing the footsteps.

"_Clathna berrin, ne ith rah. Clathna ter, ne fearth ullna státh. Morach bis, mea cern, cern mea_," I paused, stepping out of the bushes and looked straight into the eyes of Francis, and some other similarly-cladded person, "_Clathna berrin, ne ith rah._"

I finished the spell, pointing to a nearby bench, and the two had no choice but to follow my will, so they took a seat there. I drew symbols in the air that would keep them there for a few minutes after I left, and then jogged away, just imagining how foul of a mood they're in right now.

* * *

**So, was anyone surprised? I just _had _to bring that annoying little brat back to the story! **

**And doesn't Aradia scare you just a little bit? Even though I made her, she's basically the person I wish I could be: strong-minded, shows her opinion, just that kind of person in general!**

**Oh, and on my Youtube account, I made a short, 30 second video of some of the book covers to Sweep.**

**Again, it's a series I highly recommend to those of 12 years and up.**

**

* * *

**

**Favorite quote of the day:**

**Lisa**: Bart, your mortal enemy's on the radio!  
[Bart turns on the radio]  
**Dr. Demento**: It's time for more deeeeeeee-mentia, with Dr. Demento! And now, the funny five!  
[Bart yells and throws the radio out the window]  
**Lisa**: I meant your other mortal enemy, Sideshow Bob.  
**Bart**: Sideshow Bob? Oh, I'm only ten and I already got two mortal enemies!

**The Simpsons!: season 6 episode 5**

**Sideshow Bob Roberts  
**


	20. Soon tobe eventful evening with a friend

**I know! I'm a bad person! I'm sorryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! (Me on my knees begging fans for forgiveness)**

**I was busy and had a whole bunch of crap going on in my life and please don't kill me and read the chapter I typed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
**

* * *

"I'm _baaa-aaaaack_," I raised my voice entering my lovely home. I waited for my mom's echo, but heard none.

"Yello?" I called out again. Once more, no response. Weird. Mom should have sensed me arriving by now. I kicked off my shoes and slid on the railing going down to the basement, where my dad's office is (we just call it the Man-cave).

"Hey, dad, know where Mom's at?" I asked opening his door, not bothering to knock.

Only to find my parents making out sitting on my dad's desk.

"Holy Goddess!-Okay, I'm goin'," and ran up the stairs, trying to delete the image from my brain. That's when some person from the crowd is supposed to come out and yell _Get a room, you two!_ If I did that, I'd get my mouth spelled shut. I walked to my room, sensing someone very familiar.

"Susie, did my mom let you in?" I walked in, plopping myself on my bed, "Speaking of which, don't go in the basement unless you're into X-rated movies."

"Uh…sure! Let's go with that!" She laughed, throwing a pillow at me, "Now come on, show me the dazzle!" she said, pointing at my mouth. I groaned, flashing a smile.

"You already saw them, though. Nothing's changed; they're still sucky and ugly as hell."

Susie snorted with a burst of amusement.

"Girl, with _you_, anything can change in an instant, for good _or_ bad!"

"Which reminds me: guess what happened on my little jog I just took?" Susie sniffed around me, and then turned her facial expressions into that of disgust.

"Well, that would explain the smell…" I threw a pillow back at her, and told her what happened in the park.

* * *

"_Daaaaaaaaaaamn!_ You really bring out all the guys! The bad type, that is. Nice job on the controlling thingy, though," she looked out the window, "Aren't you worried that they'll eventually come here at home base?" She looked at me with a bit of unnecessary concern. I rolled my eyes.

"This is a house full of witches. We have protection spells all over the place like you wouldn't _believe_. Not to mention that mom renews them twice a month." I went to my huge bookcase and went to the spell shelf.

"Just a sec, I got it here _some_where…" I looked at the covers, searching for one in particular…

"Got it!" I said, pulling a thick blue book off the shelf. I handed it to Susie.

"Page twenty-nine. Read it, and you'll see how seriously my mom takes protecting the house." I kid you not: Mom can really overreact, but with protection spells and charms… you really can't have too many. Luckily, there're plenty to use on the house.

"The Witch's Bottle-Protection against Enemies?" She looked up at me when she got the right page.

"That's the one. Read it aloud." She looked at it again, trying to find her spot.

" _A Witch's Bottle is meant to protect yourself and at the same time, send back whatever is being sent at you. You should never be the originator of harm, nor seek revenge, but you can protect yourself. To make a Witch's Bottle, take a regular jar such as a 6 oz instant-coffee jar. Half fill of it with sharp objects such as broken glass, old razor blades, rusty nails and screws, pins, needles, etc. When the jar is half-filled with these objects, urinate in it to fill it. If a woman is preparing her bottle, she might also want to get some menstrual-_ Ah God!" She closed the book and tossed it back to me, "Your mom has _issues_ if she seriously does _that_ twice a month!"

I smiled wickedly, "Actually, she only does _that_ one once a year. You get the gist of it, though, right?"

"As disgusted as I may be, I get it."

"Basically, they can't come running up here, tap into our phone, park a van across the street with a dish on it and listen in- that kind of stuff," I explained.

"You mean like _that_ type on van?" Susie asked, pointing out my front window. What? I sighed. I jinx myself too much. I looked out the window, and _sure_ enough-there was a plain van, just like the kind you see in the movies. Susie and I looked at each other and slowly smiled together.

"Shall we-"

"Let's."

I took my speaker I sometimes use for my laptop and placed it between us. Then, I started chanting.

"Limited our ears may be,

and though with eyes we cannot see

tell us, lend us borrowed sound

and let us hear _that_ near the ground."

I pointed at the van at the last line, and then at the speaker. Susie and I stared at the speaker, which gave us a little feedback in return.

"Would you just fix it already?"

"No can do, sir. There's simply nothing coming from it."

"Hack into the place, do whatever, but do it now!"

"_You know_ _I caaan't smiiiile withooout yooou… can't smile withooout you. I caaan't laugh, and I caaan't sing. I'm findin-"_

"Agh!" We both screamed. I turned off the sound on the speaker, clutching my ears at the same time.

"That…that was _scarey_!" Susie gasped. Same song, it's _definetly_ the same group of people.

"_That's_ it. I'm taking this into my _own_ hands!" I stood up, staring at the van outside.

"I thought you already took it into your hands," Susie said. I rolled my eyes.

"You know what I mean," looking at my spellbooks, "and we are going to have some _wonderful_ entertainment with dinner this evening…"

* * *

**Well, that's that! I'll try to write the chapter a lot sooner than this one!**

**But at the moment, I have 4 different school projects to work on, so I'm hoping for the best.

* * *

**

**Favorite quote(s) of the day:**

**_Tigress: [__seeing Po bounce down the palace steps_] If he's smart, he won't come back up those steps. **  
**_ Monkey: But he will. _**  
**_ Viper: He's not gonna quit, is he? _**  
**_ Mantis: He's not gonna quit bouncing, I'll tell you that._**

**Kung Fu Panda (2008) I loved it, and I hope you did, too. If you haven't yet, check YouTube._  
_**


	21. Is it possible to laugh to death?

**Hello, friends...Romans...countrymen, and everybody I skipped. Here is yet another chapter in this little story of mine.**

**Hope you like it!**

* * *

As it grew darker outside, _ever_ so slowly, mind you, I made popcorn for Susie, while I got tea.

"_How_ again is that stuff good? It's just leaves and water!" Susie asked.

"Herbal tea can be very calming for the nerves. You should really try it sometime. Goddess knows you _need_ it, that's for sure." Which earned me a face full of buttery popcorn. _*Sigh* _Susie will forever be Susie, with her horrible sense of humor included and all.

"So, what method of torture have we decided to inflict upon these condemned sons of bitches?" I looked at her with a raised eyebrow, "Okay, what method are _you_ going to use on them, oh powerful B witch?" She mockingly bowed her hands in front of her towards me, bopping me on the nose while she was at it.

"_Enemies, you better beware,_

_Cuz you're in fo' a mighty scare!_

_Wicca Girl's gonna bring it on __**you**_**!**

_So you better pack it up and move on __**through!**__"_

_*Flick*_

"Owww, I'm gonna go _deaf_, cuz of you!" I stuck my tongue out at her, while she returned it with a big wet raspberry. Then we burst out laughing and then it got real quiet…

"Shall we begin the sacred ceremony?" I asked.

"Aw, just skip with all the stupid dramatics already and bring on the _pain!_" she said, heavily stressing the last word.

I stared at the van intensely and gathered my magic. I closed my eyes, and envisioned utter chaos, but nothing terribly lethal. I imagined the car losing control, and the frickin' radio station changing!

"_Thrice you have wronged me_

_Thrice you have deceived me_

_Thrice it shall return_

_Thrice my magic_

_Goes back to you_

_Thrice you shall receive it through."_

I directed my spell at the van, waiting for bedlam to soon ensue. I turned the speaker that was still on the floor to medium volume. Susie gave me a questioning look and stared at me with that _now what the hell are you doing_ look.

"Don't _worry_ so much! Sit back, and enjoy our brief moment of relaxation while we can." It took a sip of my calming tea. It's a good thing these morons have, really, no entire clue as for what they got themselves into, and who exactly they've challenged. I glanced at the clock mounted on my wall. Any _time_ now…

"Holy-"

"Homebase, we have a situation here-"

"_Not_ good!"

"_Solja boy, in an' OH! Watch me crank it watch me ROLL…_"

When we glanced out the window, we could see the windows going up and down, the windshield wipers and the fluid stuff going berserk, the wheels were spinning in park mode, the car alarm going off, and –best of all- _the music station changed!_

"HahaHA! Oh, this is _too_ good!" I laughed, rolling onto the floor, clutching my stomach, grabbing Susie's legs and pulling her down with me, who was also amused as all hell! I rolled around some more, listening to some colorful words from the speaker, with _Solja Boy_ in the background, and then finally dragged myself to the window to see some majorly pissed off green dudes!

"_Susie!_ Omi- look at their faces! They're just so fucking _stupid!_ I- Ogoddess-" I pushed myself up into a sitting position and looked at the wheels, causing one to pop!

"Should I call on their talking channel, or would that be pushing it?" I turned to Susie tapping my chin with a thoughtful look on my face.

"Eh, go for it! I got all night, anywho," she grinned with her custom Susie bloodthirstiness, and proceeded to eating another handful of popcorn. I picked up my microphone I use for recording whatever I record, and held the end to the window.

"_Attention, Agents: the van shall proceed to self-destruct in exactly 30 seconds due to serious mechanical difficulty. Please run away screaming in an orderly fashion. Thank you._" I talked into it while pinching my nose and using my best documentary toned voice I could muster. I pointed at the window laughing again.

"Holy _shit!_ They're actually _buying_ it! What'd I tell you? I swear, Dubya(W) Bush isn't the only dude who's proof of de-evolution!" I fell back on my back. Hoo! Goddess, I'm sorry, but this-this is too much! But sometimes a little laughter is needed in times of stress and- aw, who'm I _kidding?_ I just like to see their hopelessly confused faces!

30 seconds passed, and the van, of course, didn't blow up. In fact, it went back to normal now that the agents exited it. Hah! He agents noticed it as well, and walked back to the van, and tried to open the thing, only to find the thing _locked!_ One of the dudes looked around, probably trying to find out what was the source of his unbelievable bad luck, and glanced our way.

"_Duck!_" I hissed, and grabbed Susie's arm pulling her down to the floor. She was also clutching her stomach and failed to control her mirth.

"I swear, my stomach's gonna _pop!_" She said through her teethy grin.

"Hey, if it does and you die, I can I have you're stuff?" I asked curiously, while I unrolled a sleeping bag on the floor. I glanced back at her, only to find her glaring at me

"That's it: you're _sooo_ outta my will!"

And, with my luck being what it is, that was exactly when my mom walked into the room.

"Now what'd you do, Aradia?" she smirked at me, "Everything all right in here, girls?"

"Just witchy, Mrs A!" Susie giggled

Mom glanced at me with bored eyes, "Do I dare ask?"

"Nah, no need to spoil your night just yet!" I smiled and waved it off with a little gesture of my hand.

"Of course, Dear…" she looked back at me, and walked out the door, and you could hear a car alarm in the distance…

* * *

**So, what do you think? Let me know, please!**

**Remember: reviews= more chapters!**

**It's what motivates me!

* * *

**

**Favorite quote of the day:**

**_Bubba: Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it._**

**Forrest Gump (1994) Tom Hanks is AMAZING in this! A must see movie with crying, laughter, and open mouths._  
_**


	22. What happens in lunch stays in lunch

**Hi! I didn't feel like doing homework, so I got bored. The I remembered I wrote up another chapter in my free time in school.**

**THus the next chapter in my story sooner than I realized.  
**

* * *

Okay, bottom line: WE HAD A _BLAST! _The rest of the night included the following: we completely fried the van so that it would _never_ drive on the road. EV-ER!, caused the agents' belts to break into a hundred pieces (you can imagine what happened afterwards), watched the original _Carrie_ (the remake's a piece of crap: don't watch it), _Jurassic Park_, and _Practical Magic_.

Then, on Saturday morning, at, like, _noon_, we finally got up and ate. My mom actually had no problem with that! It's one of those _praise the Goddess on high_ kinda moments, you know? I swear I had a gallon of coffee, though. Susie _finally_ dragged her butt home at three, since my cruel mother said I still had to clean and purify the house for the coven circle, which is still a _week _away, mind you. We cleaned on Sunday, too, but after school on Monday, my mom showed me how to make a cleansing potion, which is basically the strongest acne clearer, among other things, on the face on the earth. When I was done with the potion, which resulted in a cream, Mom told me that the stuff heals what it's put on with in two to three days!

Wicca. Rules.

I also figured out how to levitate the wooden broom high up in the night sky, but, unfortunately, it completely freaked out the neighbors in the process! We had to call it in for the night after someone called the police about a UFO sighting. Sucks, you know? It _was_ funny to see the look on the cop's face about "a flying demon! A witch, I tell you!" as one person said. That person also had to be given a Breathalyzer test afterwards, and then a brief blood test to see if they were high or wasted.

Tuesday…nothing much happened. _That_ was actually a normal day for me, but then again _my_ definition of normalcy is nothing compared to that of the average American.

_Wednesday,_ though…_that_ is another story all together…

* * *

"Yo, Gilly, you get the health homework? All I got was 'study the penis diagram', but anything else?" I asked the girl in front of me tentatively.

"No," she answered in her monotonous toned-voice, "Quote the raven, nevermore. Nevermore…those witches are gonna wish they _nev_er fell asleep. My motto is 'take no prisoners…'" she droned on and _on_ about Goddess knows what.

"O-kay, thanks anyway," as I walked around her. Gilly's Gilly in that kind of way…In her _strange_, creepy way. With her, you want to be _very_ careful with what you say. One time at lunch, someone gave her a note that said her favorite TV show sucks (don't know what show, though) and she took off running after the dude, saying she was going to kill him. I feel bad for her, though.

On the brightside, she is a _lot_ calmer than Xenophon (that's actually a name), though everybody just calls him _Xeno_. You see, his name is that for a _reason_. It means _strange voice._ If you've ever been to my school, then you'd know _exactly_ what I'm talkin' about:

"Owww! Hand cramp, CRAMP! Ah!

"Ms. Lanstil, my chair's vibrating!

"I can't see the boooooard!

"_Ah_! STOP MAKING THAT CLICKING NOISE, CARL!"

And when I offered him some chamomile tea to calm his nerves:

"I can't afford tea, it's too _expensive!_"

And what he said when he kept rocking back and forth in the couple hundred dollar chair:

"But I _wanna_! I have money saved up in my account, and plus if it's for my enjoyment…"

You get the picture. At least he doesn't kick the wall anymore when his foot falls asleep. _That_ just seemed weird. And the kind of thing that says, "Why again is this kid in my class?" So… I guess you can say he's improved over the years.

Brrriing

Lunchtime! Finally!

I kicked my locker open and dumped my books in. After I checked for any tampons or anything else that isn't mine, I slammed it shut and made sure that all three locks were secure, and then I headed to the lunchroom. Well, it's also the place to go in the morning, and some classes went there to do whatever, and the cheerleading squad and flags team practice there after school when they move the tables. So, it's more like the multipurpose room, really.

After I ordered my lunch, chicken soup and a giant cookie, I walked pass the 'popular' table, I guess you could call it. 'Nother words, the only way to sit at it is if you're skinny, big-boobed, rich, and only have an IQ of three. You know what I'm talking about. There's one of 'em at every school, and you_ know_ it.

Since I only fit in the 'skinny' category, you can only presume what response I received. Yeeeeah…not my greatest moment.

"Hey, _Skank!_ Forgot something!" a yell from the table rang out. I watched as ketchup defied gravity and soared my way…only to miss me by half a foot, and make a satisfying _Splat!_

"WHAT THE FU' WAS _THAT_ ABOUT?" came a shrilly male voice from behind. I turned to see Xeno with a little spot of ketchup on his pants.

"Woah! Xeny has a _mouth_ on him, man!"

I glared at the girl who threw the ketchup and suddenly her pudding exploded all over her face!

"_**FOOD FIGHT, EVERYBODA'" **_came Susie's voice from across the room, crying out the two most lethal words used together, the only two chaos beginners in the whole school.

Complete. Silence.

And then a slushy was thrown up in the air…

…And landed on the head of a football player. _That_ set it off!

Utter mayhem! It was _sooo_ awesome! I love a good lunch fight, but only when I'm not hit. I put on a 'see-me-not' kind of spell, grabbed my lunch, and headed towards Susie's table. I tapped her on the shoulder.

"I'm charmed! Library?" I yelled to her over the din.

"Damn straight, yeah!" she shouted back, grabbing her stuff and heading for the emptiest and quietest place in the school. I, of course, charmed her as well so we wouldn't be bombarded by the food-flinging fingered creatures that are high schoolers.

* * *

_A group of small beetle-shaped bugs skittered through the vents of the school. A few of them stopped, and just stood there. Then the vents shook violently, yet the bugs just stayed there. They were causing it. It was their natural defense mechanism. But, what are they doing in a school in the first place…?

* * *

_

_**Sorry, but I gotta leave ya hangin' for the moment, because I have to go.**_

_**Please review! I always check them out!**_

_**

* * *

**_**Favorite quote of the day:**

**Sally Owens**: _Can love really travel back in time and heal a broken heart? Was it our joined hands that finally lifted Maria's curse? I'd like to think so. But there are some things I know for certain: always throw spilt salt over your left shoulder, keep rosemary by your garden gate, plant lavender for luck, and fall in love whenever you can._

**Practical Magic (1998) I loved the thing! It's about witches, in the Wiccan sense. It's soooo good! Check it out on YouTube, because I know it's on there!**_  
_


	23. Beginning to a new chaos, again

**Hi! Sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry!**

**Anyway, here's the next chapter! I will try hard to put the next one up sometime _soon_, but please don't hold your breath.  
**

* * *

"You can take off the spell now, ya know?" Came a voice from the dusty, school library.

"Oh, right," I replied stupidly, undoing the charm, causing the librarian to jump a bit when she noticed us, but then the O that was oddly stamped on her puckered face turned into a gentle smile.

"It's nice to see some fresh, young faces in here now and then," she told us in a quiet, crackly voice, and resumed her work at her desk.

I put my soup and stuff down at a table and started eating. Susie set her food down as well and then disappeared into the graphic novel isle. Five minutes later, she slowly emerged with a _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ in her hands, being gradually dissected by her fixated eyes. I twisted my thick, short hair I had with my finger.

"You, my dear, insane friend, are clinically obsessed," I informed her.

"Ha! You're _only_ against the fact that I truly think Willow is the _suckiest_ character in the series!" She smirked, putting the book on the table. I stood up abruptly.

"_Take_ that back, you Wicca hating bi-" I raised my voice at her.

"_Shhh!_" the librarian glared at us both, saw that we both quieted down, then went back to her work with a content look on her face. I looked back at Susie and lowered my voice.

"-tch!" I finished.

"No can do, Witchy Poo," she stuck her tongue out at me childishly.

Then, the _weirdest_ thing happened: the table shook ever so slightly for, like, not even five seconds. I looked underneath the thing and saw no loose legs of anything.

"Woah…that…that was awkward," I thought aloud, "wait… 'Witchy Poo?' It-wasn't that the name of that old, knock-off witch in that old cheesy show-ah-whatchacallit?" I tapped my head with my spoon trying to remember, "AH! It's on the _tip_ of my tongue, dammit!…It had that annoying theme song, 'Here comes… yada-yad-"

"Omigod! PuffinStuff?" Susie knocked me in the head with her book so hard, I'm pretty sure my children will be born cross-eyed.

"Yeah-_Ow_-that dude! The one with the big-yellow head who looks like a dinosaur! And-and he had that kid on his show with the flute and the boat n' stuff!" I said excitedly, rubbing my head tenderly, "I just saw him the other day on George Lopez!"

"Really? Damn, I thought PuffinStuff was, like, _extinct_, or something…" She drifted off, looking back at her _Buffy_ book on the table. Oi. Her and her Vamp slayage…I swear she's not human. Heh, that wouldn't be all that suprising if she was part _cryptid_, or something like that. Just in the brain part, though.

I finished my lunch, and then started entertaining myself by balancing my pencil on its tip (with magic, or course). It caught Susie's eye, who then just kept watching it twirl in an endless spin on the table.

_Clack!_

"Wha-" I started when my pencil all of a sudden fell back on the table.

Rumble…

The table started to shake. I got up, and the floor started to shake as well! The whole freaking place was!

"What the hell?" I yelled to be heard over the din of the shaking bookcases. The librarian was wigging out, whining about what would happen if the cases would fall over. I felt my ear getting flicked and I swung around.

"Hey! You're all jacked up- do something!" Susie shouted. I mock saluted her and drew some safety sigils in the air around the room, and chanted so that the cases and the librarian wouldn't get damaged or anything. I mean, that would really suck if the school closed off the only normally quiet room in the whole building. Well, excluding study hall, that is.

"Okay, now what the _hell's_ going on?" I yelled again, knowing I wouldn't get an actual answer. She shrugged, and I cast my senses over the room, looking for an answer.

"Radar pick up anything?" Susie asked. I waved her to shut up.

"No, not-wait!" I put more energy into my casting. There! A little something _riiight_…

"Spider-sense tingling in the _vents?_" I muttered to myself in disbelief.

"_What?"_

"I _said_, 'IN THE _VENTS'!_"

"Okay, but- wait. Seriously? In the _vents?_ God, I _hate_ that cliché!" Susie yelled back.

"Which just further pisses me off!"

"_Every_thing pisses you _off!_"

"That's why I said _further! _It's just –AGH!" _Major_ spidey sense tingle-age!

"_What?_"

"Shit, shit, SHIT! There are _bugs!_ _All! Over! The! Place!_" Did I mention I have Insectophobia? Well…I do. Badly.

"You got issues, you know that?" Susie gave me her look that said, 'Awkward,' written all over it. I glared at her. I concentrated with much revulsion and disgust on the tiny creatures in the damn vents. Wait…those…are _not _bugs…

"The _shitty _part of it is that these _things_ aren't really _bugs!_"

"But you just said-"

"_I know what I said!_ They're cryptids!"

"Wha- Ooooh. _Oh!_…Hell," Susie slowly realized.

"What other bug can shake stuff? Really, I mean, what kind? They're-ah- gimme a sec… Jinshin-Mushi!" I slapped my thigh in realization.

"English, please?"

"They're bad news, okay?" I reached out with my mind and sent out a witch message to my mom. She'll know what to do. I hope.

Mom! Need help! NOW! Goddess, Aradia, what happened no-

_Cryptid bugs, okay? And no, I _didn't_ cause any of this! _There was a long pause, as if my mom actually had time to think about this.

_We need experts._

_Agreed. You gonna call the Ghost Busters? If so, tell them to play the theme song on the way in._

_No, I will contact the Secret Scientists._

How about not?

And the rest of the conversation went something like that. But, help was coming, at least. I think. Now, I just have to keep the damage to a bare minimum. I turned to Susie.

"Help get the screaming librarian to shut the hell up, and then get her out of here. I'm gonna get to work." Susie, for once, didn't say anything back. She simply went over to the librarian and calmed her down a bit and exited the room. Wow…amazing.

_O_-Kay. Enough of that. Back to work. Or what I call work.

I cracked my knuckles theatrically, and I drew some more sigils in the air and dung into my backpack, searching for a vital ingredient to end the carnage. Where…Aha! I pulled out a pocket spell book: a book with the simplest, elementary list of spells _any_ witch could use. I went into the hallway while I flipped through, searching for the protection chants, _and_ avoiding the freaking out students. Ah…the pentagram spell!

I traced a large pentagram in the air, one after another as I walked through the hallways. _Ignore the screaming idiots…just ignore them…_I drew up my energy and chanted clearly:

"_With this pentagram  
Protection I lay  
To guard this place  
Both night and day  
And for him who should no touch  
May his body shiver and quake  
I now invoke the law of three  
This is my will, so mote it be!"_

_Goddess, pleeease let this work!_ I prayed. Cuz if not, well, I'm screwed. I repeated the chant, continuing to trace pentagrams this way and that.

The rumbling stopped…well, decreased a whole bunch, at least. Too bad Beeman wasn't around to see _that_. He probably would've wet himself. Or I could've dropped a piano on his head (just kidding!).

Now…for those pesky bugs…or Jinshin Mushi, or- _whatever!_ You get the point. Wait, should I really be doing this? Or should I just wait for backup? Act, or wait…aw, screw it! ...Is ist just me, or are they crawling _out_ of the vents?

"Okay, you miniature assholes, let's get this over with!"

* * *

**Yes, a cliffy. Would my name_ be Fantasy_ if there wasn't?**

**I mean, really.

* * *

**

**Favorite quote of the day:**

**The Wolf**: [_receiving a lit stick of dynamite_] What kind of candles are those?  
**Twitchy**: [_pointing at writing on dynamite and talking high speed_] Dee-na-mee-tay. Must be Italian.

**Best! Movie! of! that! year!**


	24. Shoulda gotten the bug spray

**Wow. I haven't updated this thing in...how long again?**

**Please don't kill me!**

**Anywho, I was going through my computer folders, and it turns out that I still had a chapter that I hadn't put up yet, and I don't know when I'll get the time to put up another one.**

* * *

I saw in my mind the *shudder* creepy-crawlies start to emerge from the vents. I shook my head. This simply will _not_ do. If _any_one gets to trash the school, it'll be _me!_ _No_ one is gonna steal that privilege, human or not!

I raised my arms and drew my energy, letting it flow naturally through my body. I focused on the freaky bugs, the Jinshin-Mushi. I pictured the problem in my mind: the bugs as the most _obvious_ one, the still slightly shaking building, and the _absolute_ panic running amuck (I'm pretty sure I'm gonna need a hearing aid, and a whole bottle of Advil when this all over).

Then, I pictured the problem _solved_: no more buggies, no more shaking, fellow idiot classmates silenced (and hopefully knocked unconscious), AND most importantly, whatever the hell set the damn things _loose_ in the _first _place getting _burned_ and _hacked_ with whatever Chaney uses in his torture sessions! Okay, so the last one isn't going to happen, but a girl can hope, right?

I searched my memories for the sharp scent of burning white sage: the one herb coven priestesses use for dispersing negative energy at a circle. Aw, _crap!_ We're having the neighborhoodly circle soon with all the other witches from the area! What am I going to _wear-_

_Ah!_ Focus, _focus, dammit!_ I shook my head again, and drew up the sage memory, letting it become real to my other senses. I imagined the smoke drifting through the school, aiding me. Then, keeping the problems solved thing still fresh in my mind, chanted my ticket outta here.

"_A problem made, a problem done._

_Light's pure force over dark's wrath won._

_Goddess, in your eyes today,_

_Right the wrong, so this I pray."_

I repeated the lines over and over again, while thinking about normalcy again in the school. Well, what the school was before. Can't really call that normal, though. I kept the image in my mind, strong in details and mere will.

I drew up my Power Chant, channeling all my energy.

_Breath in through the nose…out through the mouth…_

Let's see… some sigils here…some sigils there…I repeated the chant one more time with magic in my voice, feeling it seep past my lips with power. I could feel the energy around me building up with such _intensity_, kept building up and piling up becoming so dense and crowded with magic and-

_WOOOOSHHHHHHHHHH_…

_All_ the negative energy around me…_all _the scurrying from the bugs…and _all_ the shaking…was simply _gone_.

I looked around me, all the energy still hanging in the air from the outburst. I cast my senses, looking for _any_ sign of another bug thingy…nothing. Drawing my senses back in, I paused when I felt a pulse nearby.

"Now what?" I muttered out loud. I'm too exhausted to do anymore shit right now. I weakly cast my senses out again.

Whoa…though I could no longer sense the bugs, there was _definitely_ something else…something inhuman in nature. I closed my eyes, trying to concentrate on it.

"Is there a puppeteer in the building? Hello?" I called out, causing me to hack a bit. Eck! Feels like I ate pencil shavings for lunch.

"Cuz if there _is_…I swear that once I down a bottle of painkiller and a dozen Monster drinks, you're going to have to deal with one _pissed_ off witch who knows a _lot_ of hexes!" Nothing. I could still feel the presence _some_where in the building. I tried to pinpoint the exact location, but the _moment_ I tried, the thing skidaddled. Gone. Vanished. Bu-bye, see ya later kinda thing. Well, I _hope_ I don't see it again anytime soon, that is.

I wiped my sweaty forehead, relieving it of the heavy perspiration gathering on it. I dropped my senses, trying to gather myself up.

Where the hell is Mom at? She should be here by now. I looked around at the cracked floors and ceilings, broken light fixtures, and the water fountain gushing water out like a, well, like a _fountain_. You get the point: the place is mess, but, _hey._ It could be a lot worse, right?

Tell that to _my_ personal luck and karma.

_Crack-_

I swung my head around like a whip.

Only to feel the entire sky fall down on me, bringing a painful, but much needed, empty blackness, and a ghostly laughing in the distance…

…

…_aradia…_

…

_Araaaadia_…

…

…_how hard…hit her head?…like a light…exhausted from the…spell…_

…

…_feather and whipped cream?…no, you…not…_

…

…

…_poke her?…no…_

…_Oh, hell with it…_

…

_ARADIA!_

"_WAKE UP, ALREADY!"_

"AGH!" I bolted up, immediately regretting it. My hand flew to my head, which pretty much felt like Harry Potter's when Voldy got in his brain. No, wait , scratch that: _worse_ than that.

"Hoooly mutherfu-"

"_Girl, you had scared shittless!_" Two arms wrapped around me like steel, cutting off my air supply. I looked around, only to see my best friend squeezing the life out of me, but I did notice the safety of my own bed.

"Ow-Susie- _Hhhah…_-please-hurty-" I grimaced with the pain.

"_Ch_- Such a _cry_ baby! One little bump on the head, and _Bam!_" She slapped one hand against the other for the dramatic effect, "You were out like a frickin' _light!_ I mean, I got the shrieking library lady out, and then steered some dumbass freshies outside-"

"Susie-"

"I felt the shakin' go down 'n stuff, so I went back inside. I saw you lying on the ground with blood fuckin' gushing out your _head!_ You were all pale, and-"

"_Susie_-"

"-Just sorta _weird_ looking. I mean, weird_er_—No offense. Looked like a chunk of ceiling came loose, and you were just standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. School really _does_ kill, ya know? What the hell did you _do_ in there? I mean, the buggies went buy-bye and then none left! It must of left you _wiped_, that's for _shuh'!_ You—oh, I should probably stop hugging you now, shouldn't I? Okay, so-"

"_SUSIE!_"

"_What?_"

"Remember to breathe, okay?" And let _me_ breathe. "Um, I hate to ask, but…how long've I been out?" I asked tentatively. It really makes me look like a big wussy after _all_ that hard work, getting knocked down by a damn piece of _school!_ It's unbelievably upsetting, ya know? I looked up at Susie again, who was leaning back and forth on her heels and toes. I crossed my arms and gave my best impatient look I could muster up at the moment, which I bet is semi crappy, since my head feels like someone played soccer with it, and afterwards, used it as a bowling ball to win a tournament or two.

"Uh…"

"Spill."

"So…yeah…you've been out for four days, 'n weeeell…"

"_Four days?_ I've been out for _four-_"

"Chillaaaaaaaaaacks, girl! I'm jus' kiddin'! You've been out for less than a _day_. It's Thursday, by the way, at 'leven in the morning," she snickered, obviously taking delight for seeing the rarely seen shock on my face. I clutched my head delicately, failing to ignore the pain shooting through it. Susie took notice of it and pointed to my nightstand. I blinked a few times, trying to clear the temporary bleariness from my eyes, and swung my head to where she was pointing.

I think I moaned with delight.

A glass of orange juice, and a bottle of _Advil_! Without further ado, I ignored the o.j., and downed three pills dry.

"Thank _you_, Susie-_poo_!" I grinned up at her. Her face scrunched up with an odd look on her face.

" 'Susie-poo'? Just-don't even try. Oh, I should probably let your mom know you're awake, 'n stuff, shouldn't I?"

"You didn't even let her _know_ ye- never mind. With _your_ head, I'm surprised you even mentioned it to _me._" She gave a fake scowl, which resulted in the both of us cracking up, which resulting with _more_ shooting pains in my achin' noggin.

"I now have a real reason to hate school with a passion. This is _my_ lucky day," I muttered.

* * *

**If you have the heart, please review!**

**Spike:**

**"You're a wee little puppet man!"  
**


End file.
